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-Hayward-: Startled by the sudden noise, you instruct your Pokémon to take preemtive measures as the sound of footsteps got ever closer and closer, Medéo boosting his inner strength with Meditate as Hynéo Hones her Claws. A profesional Odor Sleuth, Hynéo tries to discern the identity, or identities, by means of whatever scent she could pick up. She does seem to react to something, though, she turns to the completely opposite direction, and as you turn around to figure out what it was you're surprised to see the breach in the ship's hull now mysteriously closed as if it never was there to begin with! You feel the pressure intensify within the room, and you knew that whatever it was, it was already here. Medéo wastes not a second to flash a bright red beam of light; his Foresight would surely reveal its true identity, and it works to perfection as you now behold the figure of a single, though large Snorlax. You could tell by its appearance that it wasn't the friendly kind by a longshot. Its head was adorned with a simple black bandana, a black eye patch over his right eye, and a pair of iron earrings piercing its left ear. Its left eye drew most of your attention however, as you saw nothing but a completely empty eye socket; a dark hole which seemed like it could suck you in if you got too close. It glared at you with that single, deep and eternal missing eye, almost as if it was patiently waiting for you to make the wrong move before outright destroying you.

What will you do?

In the wreckage of the pirate galleon known as the Black Swan, Will bolts in astonishment as the massive form of a swashbuckling Snorlax suddenly fades into view in front of him and his comrades. Dressed in the traditional garb of a roguish seafarer, including a bandana, eye patch, and pair of earings, the colossal creature silently regards Will through a hollow, eyeless socket, giving the lad the sensation of falling headlong into a bottomless pit. Will freaks at the eerie sight of the buccaneer bear, and falls back in horror while his Pokémon, Medéo the Medicham and Hynéo the Mightyena, quickly take up defensive positions on either side of him. Hynéo lets out a low warning growl while Medéo adopts the kung fu stance known as 10,000 Butterfree Shield.

Despite the creepy atmosphere brought on by Snorlax's supernatural arrival, Will quickly recovers his composure, putting on a brave face and introducing himself as a treasure hunter and trainer from Pacifidlog Town, Hoenn, and states that he has traveled to the derelict vessel in search of rare relics, ancient artifacts, and long-lost loot, as well as strong wild Pokémon, and as he withdraws a Premier Ball out of his sidestrap courier bag, wonders if Snorlax would be willing to join his squad and aide him in his quest...

MarbleZone: You realize Min was ultimately a poor match-up against Grimer, despite going off a great start, and thus you decide to recall her in favor of two of your other teammates: Crix and Gaius. Figuring that perhaps another Grimer was on its way to provide backup, you decide to forgo your methodical approach in favor of going all out on the poor thing. Crix is the first to move, the Elekid Quickly Attacking the Grimer with a lightning fast tackle. He isn't as nimble enough to retreat as fast as Min however, and in turn takes a well placed slimy Pound to his face; forcing him to stagger back a few steps. A good thing for him however, as now it was only Grimer who was in range of Gaius's attack, the floor underneath the Grimer glowing before suddenly bursting upward with Ground energy, rocks, and water from a broken pipe. The Earth Power had really hit the mark against the Poison-type, and yet, it still seemed to hang on tight, looking very angry and annoyed. Resilient pestilent buggers, aren't they? It would take more than a single one of those to take it out, for sure.

"What are you doing?! Ohmygoshohmygoshimtoastimtoastimtoastarhggfhgakjg. .." The clerk was starting to panic. He was expecting things to go smooth as pie, and instead the damage property caused by Gaius was only adding to the nightmare of Grimer polluting his ice cream. As if it wasn't enough, you all can't help coughing a bit as you feel a pastilent stench suddenly fill the room; a cloud of Grimer's Poison Gas being breathed all over your squad. Fighting in these conditions was going to be big disadvantage to say the least, and it wouldn't take long before your Pokémon found themselves completely poisoned the more they breathed in the noxious gases. As you had expected, another Grimer has now fully made its way out of the storage room to boot! You were already in trouble as is, and now its been made double.

What will you do?

Damn it! I should’ve knocked it out faster!

Things really hadn’t gone according to plan. Now there were two Grimer to take down, and the room was starting to get filled with Poison Gas. But there were brighter sides to both issues.
One of the Grimer wouldn’t take much longer to defeat. It was visibly angry at the beating it had received, but it wasn’t retaliating with anything particularly dangerous. Not only that, both Crix and Gaius still had some tricks up their sleeves. And the gas, while it put a timer on the battle, served a different purpose – an excuse.

- Calm down and think! – he said to the panicking clerk – Grimer aren’t just a threat to your ice cream shop. Whoever planted them here cleary meant to harm you and the other employees as well! Can’t you see that this Poison Gas will affect us just as bad as it will Pokémon? The property damage is collateral here, and nothing the League can’t pay for if you insist; right now, I am saving your life and that is my priority as an Official Trainer!

He grinned inside. Ah, the faithful silver tongue. But now to focus on the increasing threat… The gas still wasn’t placing too much of a toll on either of his Pokémon, but that would change. He needed to speed things up, but admittedly, more damage to the storage room would be hard to explain from here on out. So, alternatives… Oh, he had some.

- Crix, Gaius, listen up! I know you too don’t exactly get along, but use your rivalry for the greater good now! Team up and take down these annoying Grimer, they’re no match for either of you alone, let alone with your powers combined! One’s already ripe for the picking, so let’s finish what we’ve started!

The Gible and Elekid looked at him, clearly upset that they had to work together when the one thing they loved the most was to fight each other. But the response was surprisingly positive, as both nodded and turned to the weakened Grimer. All was good, then.

- Okay Crix, you go first! Arms crossed and stay focused, remember what we’ve trained! Hit your Crossfire*! Gaius, you follow it up immediately with your fearsome Outrage, and if one doesn’t bring it down, a second round will!

He was pulling out the big guns much faster than he used to, and certainly much earlier than he had anticipated, but the situation did just take a turn for the worse and he wasn’t going to let it spiral further out of control.

((OOC: I will be unable to reply to any updates for the first two weeks of August (possibly a little longer), so if you can, please don’t drop me for inactivity! Thanks in advance.))

--

*Crossfire (Fire)
Much Similar to the move Cross Chop, but with an added fiery bonus, when used the user's arms engulf in flames, when hit the opponent takes the same damage as Cross Chop and has a 10% Chance of being burned, the user if not a fire type takes small damage from the move for every second it's used and also has a 10% chance of being burned.

Pengyzu: Hanging over the barrier of the heavily air conditioned Polar Exhibit, the lost Wailmer calf was the last thing on your mind as you gaze in awe at the waddle of Piplup. Your enthusiasm is quickly cut short however as one of the smallest of the crčche strays too far to the edge of the glacier, splashing into the icy cold water and struggling to stay afloat. The chick flails frantically as you yell for a park trainer, your heart sinking as no one comes to the rescue. The Piplup starts to chirp for help, spurring you into action. You decide to take things into your own hands – Allon now reeling to your side with a smooth hum. With orders volleyed the Magnemite sparks with animation, drifting over the barrier and toward the ice berg. The baby penguin’s tweets become slightly muffled now as it splutters icy cold water, the rest of the rookery assembling at the coast of the glacier in alarm. The magnet breaks to a halt as he reaches his coordinates, who twin magnets sliding down his body as he descends. Like a claw crane in an arcade, Allon successfully latches onto the penguin’s crown, ascending and drifting over the ice berg. Whilst the alien abduction seems to frighten the bubba more than drowning, it quickly gets over the ordeal as the Magnemite plops it down in the snow. Allon beams proudly as you sigh in relief, until a large shadow casts over the magnet...

“MWAP!”

A piercing squawk resonates across the warehouse as you almost bowl over the barrier in surprise. Allon gyrates to the source of the racket, a towering penguin clipping its trident-like beak aggressively. Its armour was sleek and black in comparison to the rookery’s downy white feathers, blue metal blades extending from its wings and collar. Its sapphire eyes were bloodshot in frenzy, shuffling its webbed toes and easily cornering the electric type into a glacier wall where he couldn’t slip away. You notice a caption further down the barrier: “Empoleon (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to the Glacier Islands. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 170 cm in height and weighing anywhere from 170 to 200 kg. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed” Your reading is suddenly cut off as the Empoleon lunges into Allon with a Peck, the attack chinking his armour for a mild hit. The magnet tumbles rearward his back knocking against a wall in the glacier. Before you can communicate with the Magnemite you catch sight of another caption scrawled in red lettering “Warning! The male Empoleon is not to be interacted with whilst his young in its incubation period”. It was too late for that, the emperor penguin closing any of Allon’s escape routes with a stretch of his jagged flippers. There was no way Allon could match such a huge foe, but with a good plan you could aid his getaway. What will you do?

Allon springs into action hovering above the water at lightning speed. He reaches the coordinates of the target and uses his magnets to rescue to baby penguin in need. The baby freaks out as an alien-like device lifts it onto land where the other chicks have gathered in panic. This stops as the baby is laid down on the soft snow. Allon brightens up as happiness and pride overrides his system as a shadow towers over him.

"Uh oh. It looks like that baby's parent isn't too happy to see a foreign Pokemon come close to the flock."

An ear-piercing squawk echoes throughout the exhibit as the Empoleon makes its presence known to Allon.

"Wait a minute... what's that down there."

“Empoleon (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to the Glacier Islands. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 170 cm in height and weighing anywhere from 170 to 200 kg. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed”

"Oh no. I didn't... see that there... But its baby was in danger! What's wrong with him! Okay! No time to think now and reason out! That thing is ready to attack any-"

He is cut of as the Empoleon lunges in for a Peck, pushing the Magnemite against a glacial wall. Allon's gravitation becomes out of whack as the impact messes with him. Before the kid can communicate with his friend, he notices another note, this one in red.

“Warning! The male Empoleon is not to be interacted with whilst his young in its incubation period”

The emperor penguin corners the Shiny Magnemite, who's now vibrating out of terror. The wing span of the Empoleon blocks all exits and it looks like this penguin will remain hostile until false justice has been served.

"This penguin is nuts! If I didn't save the Piplup, then he would have been the dead one from the mother's rage. Ugh! I need help, fast! Come out, Kara!" as he throws a Pokeball up into the air.

"Kara! Stand by for orders. Allon! Hear me, please! Use a Thunder Wave to stop it in its tracks temporarily. Follow with a Flash. Now here's where you come in Kara, I want you to Teleport Allon out of that tight spot, to here beside us once the Empoleon has been successfully dazed... Let's do this quickly before any of the other Empoleons attack. I feel happy for the Piplups to have such protective fathers, but they could be protective without being jerks!" he sighs, preparing the Pokeball of Allon, so that once he escapes, he can recall him.

jolteonjak: The incident had certainly triggered a few alarms in your mind, and you decide it was best to find out what it was back at the lodge. The old man would probably know something about this, and you needed a rest anyways. Perhaps this wasn’t that much of a big deal? Making way back to the lodge, you find Pedro outside, quietly staring far into the lake. The overgrown Quagsire turns to you for only a second, before looking back to the lake again. Was it because of that noise you had heard earlier? It was hard to tell what he was thinking, if in fact he was thinking of anything at all. Looking at the lodge, you see the door wide open, and no immediate signs of anyone being inside. How weird. Walking past you, you see a couple now walk in to the lodge, well equipped with scuba gear you reckon by what little could be seen hanging out of their luggage. They both seemed to be wearing hats and jet black sunglasses, which made it very hard to really take a good look at their faces, though you could distinguish the woman's long pair of golden ponytails hanging on her back. Something about them feels.... off, somehow, though you had no real reason to believe so. Whatever it was, it probably didn't matter, you could choose to rest up, have a decent family meal and see what happens tomorrow, or find some more answers right now.

What will you do?

Chad returned Wooper to his Pokeball. He stood by the edge of the lake admiring the ball that contained his first capture. He decided to return to the lodge when he heard his stomach growling. He also noticed Cyndaquil and Heracross could use a rest after the battle.

Chad was looking forward to a home-cooked meal with a gracious host and his family. He hoped the old man would share some stories of the goings-on here. Surely there would be some. He wondered if his parents had an adventure when they were here and if they met the old man and his family. Most importantly he was wondering if the family would know anything about the thunderous noise that just rumbled the lake.

As he approached the lodge, Chad noticed Pedro standing outside looking at the lake. ‘I bet it heard the commotion, and it came out to investigate,’ he thought to himself. Not that he would be able to understand Pedro if it answered, but Chad took his Spanish dictionary out and pieced together a question. “Hola Pedro. żSabía usted que saliera a investigar el ruido en el lago?” Chad’s Spanish still sounded strange to him, but he got the feeling he was getting better the more he attempted to communicate with Pedro. “Umm… Tengo muchas ganas a la cena de esta noche. He also kept it in the back of his mind just how vicious Pedro could be, so he always tried to treat Pedro with respect.

Chad turned his attention to the lodge. He was almost there, so he and his Pokémon could rest a bit. He noticed the door was wide open, and there was no one immediately around. “żPedro hizo que dejar la puerta abierta?” Chad turned back to Pedro to ask. He approached the lodge slowly in case he needed to act quickly. Before he reached the lodge, he saw a couple walk inside. They were dressed incognito in hats and dark sunglasses. Chad couldn’t recognize them even if he knew them. One of the pair was a woman with two blonde ponytails. He saw in their luggage that they appeared to be divers due to the various pieces of gear hanging out of it.

Chad felt a little bit of relief. The divers must have come to investigate the noise in the lake. It was either that or coincidentally they were on a getaway to do some diving. Before he could think of anything else, he revisited the investigator idea. The incident happened only a short while ago, so how could anyone have gotten up to the top of the volcano so quickly? He decided that if the couple were indeed staying at the lodge, he would keep an eye on them. For the meantime, he was hungry, and dinner must be close to being ready. His Pokémon also needed to rest up from their battle. He and Cyndaquil and Heracross entered the lodge.

Itzatrap: With your decision to work on breaking the juvenile Blitzle, the old farmer nods gruffly. Flannery beams, her fists tightenting with a sense of adventure as you make your way toward the back door of the ranch. The sun washes over you again as you break through the threshold, dirt tracks snaking off to several farming pastures – Amos escorting you down one of the furthest ones. The rancher stops at a great wooden corral at least twice the size of a standard battle arena. The surrounding grass worn and scarred, you could only assume many tame Blitzle and Zebstrika had been given free reign over these pastures. Directly adjacent to the corral was an oblong stable easily matching its length. By first impression it looked as though it’d hold a couple dozen stallions at least. The oldtimer pauses at the stable’s entrance, its interior too dark to make out at dawn. He passes you a lasso, “Bolt is jus’ ahead. He’s one of ar more unruly foals but he’s sure to tame under the firm hand of a trainer like yerself”. You nod reluctantly, only half sure what you’re doing as Flannery scooches beside you again.

“If you get to work on the farming, it’ll give me and Biscuit a good chance to look for the deed”, she mutters under her breath. Before you have time to ask who or what on earth Biscuit was, the gym leader brandishes a cherry-red Pokéball. Tossing it in the air, it splits open against the straw-covered terra, revealing a Growlithe pup that bounds circles around you both eagerly. “Biscuit, Odor Slueth!” The canine yaps obediently as Flannery tosses it a doggie treat. Catching the bone-shaped snack in its mouth, Biscuit nuzzles the floor of the mucky stable and starts sniffing around for the lost deed, his tail wagging high in the air. Flannery nods, it was time for you to get to work! The farmer hands you a rope to lasso the adolescent zebra, assuming you’d be capable without assistance. Your grab ahold of the lasso and press on, entering the dimly lit stable which was in tatters. The narrow dirt path was strewn with bales of hay and wooden crates. You check past each pen in the stable: empty, empty, empty. Beside the occasional horse shoe the space appeared vacant. You could only assume Bolt had gone walkies himself until a gruff neigh proves otherwise. At the far end of the tattered stable, a stripy steed attempted to go unnoticed.

Sparks fly up and down its body in warning as it fixes its lightning blue eyes on yours. In light of your advances Bolt rasps a second hee-haw, his body language more hostile. He was warning you to keep distance. Now nearing feet from the Blitzle’s pen he kicks his forelegs aggressively. The Blitzle could smell your determination, matching it as he hurdled over his steeple causing an instinct within you to back off into the corner barely inches from the rowdy zebra. He was headed straight out now and you’d need to stop him!

Here’s the Stable which has become a makeshift obstacle course. You’ll need to pick a Pokémon who can reach the exit the fastest way possible and draw out the quickest route via MS Paint. Upon beating Bolt to the finish, your Pokemon will be able to lasso the Blitzle into the corral. From there you’ll have to battle it using a Pokemon of your choice to prove yourself a worthy trainer. You have to navigate around obstacles. Your Pokemon can only go forwards, left and right – it cannot go from one tile to the diagonal tile.*

Pokémon with *Speed get a head start of 7 tiles.
Pokémon with *Jump can effortlessly hurdle over bales of hay. This means tiles with bales of hay are treated as though they are a normal tile.
Pokémon with *Power can punch their way through boxes. This means tiles with boxes are treated as though they are a normal tile.

Note: These advantages do not stack. So if you used a Sunkern for example, you’d have to choose which stat to use. PM me if you're having any trouble. Best of luck!

Rob grabbed the lasso Amos gave him and entered the stable. It looked quite disorganized, with boxes and hay all over the place. "Wow and I thought my room was messy..." The pens were empty as he looked through them, one by one, "Huh, that's odd, wonder where it is hiding..." the trainer mumbled to himself. His question was answered as he heard the zebra neigh in the back.

Rob went further back until he saw the Blitzle. It's stunning eyes where only matched by the electricity flowing through it body. Rob got closer to the Blitzle, only for it to react aggressively, eventually cornering the trainer and running towards the door.

"Oh no you don't! Olli, Keane, come on out!" The trainer released his fiery monkey and mantis like Pokémon, who were as energetic as ever, Olli somersaulting as soon as his feet touched the floor, and Keane looking around for his prey. "Keane, follow my directions to the end of the stable to help me lasso the Blitzle, Olli I need your help as well to help corral it, then if we can corral it, start the battle by using a Leer on it to make it back down a little. Think of a Nasty Plot to take it down and then hit it with a Flame Wheel! Let's go buddy!" Olli and Keane quickly took the bait, a challenge they could not resist as they raced after the Blitzle, Keane ready to catch up with the Blitzle and Olli also ready to start the battle if nessesary.

Whale Island Adventures: Batch 14

::Ancient Ruins::

Arc_Angel: Stricken with fear at the sight of the oversized eel, you choose to try a more diplomatic approach in hopes that maybe it wouldn't see you as a threat, or even lunch for that matter. Engaging an electric eel in underwater combat was, after all, deadly dangerous, and trying to escape it was also an equally risky and hard endeavor, to say the least. Though you weren't sure about Oblivion's diplomatic ability, it was at least worth a try, and maybe the Tentacruel would have enough tact as to not immediately incurr the Eelektross's wrath.

Oblivion spreads his tentacles so as to appear large and threathening - a creature worthy of being listened to. With a rough growl, he explains your intentions to the creature whom you had gathered was likely the guardian of the ruins, Oblivion looking ready to step into your aid at the least sign of danger as he does so. The Eelektross seems to carefully assess the jellyfish's words, seemingly undisturbed by Oblivion's tone of voice. In return, it emits a long whistling sound, as if asking "Who asks?".

The guardian carefully looks at you as it tried to figure out if you were worthy, but then things take a sudden turn for the unexpected as you're shocked to see a harpoon suddenly dart right past you and sink into the eel's flesh; the Electric-type roaring and twisting in pain as a small trickle of blood flowed from the still half-clogged wound. As you turned to the source of the assault, you see two divers emerging from the darkness, looking well armed and equipped with specialized gear; their night vision diving masks in particular standing out the most as a single and small circular lens glowed a faint green right between where their eyes would be. In their company, a Huntail and Gorebyss both seemed ready to engage the beast while the divers took aim once again; one of them pointing a finger towards you before his partner nodded in understanding. What did they mean with that? Eelektross wasn't going to just sit there idly however, as its entire body now starts cackling with electricity, looking ready to Discharge you all. Was it grouping you with them? Who were these people anyways and should you take any part in this developing battle?

MarbleZone: Things were starting to look very dire, and you knew you had to do something before it got even worse, even if it meant a bit of collateral damage. You try to ease Andrew up, letting him know that everything was under control, and that he should focus on the important task of staying alive and unharmed. Besides, somebody would cover for the necessary repairs, and hopefully, it wouldn't have to be you.

Facing against two Grimer, you choose to go full offensive, focusing all of your attacks on the weakened one in hopes of taking it down as soon as possible. Both of your Pokémon are quick to follow orders, Crix, going in first as both of his forearms are covered in flames, chopping accross the Grimer with a Cross motion traced with fire. Before the Grimer could even react, Gaius jumps in, thrashing about violently in mighty Outrage. The Grimer had clearly taken a beating, but somehow, it still held on to consciousness! Woe to you, it breathes even more Poison Gas over your Pokémon, both of them coughing heavily as a result before Crix pulls off an encore of his previous attack to finally shut the Grimer down for good. By the looks of it however, it seemed your Pokémon were now unfortunately Poisoned, and the gas would only worsen the situation by forcing them to expend extra energy on their attacks. You yourself were already feeling slightly faint and sick as the stench filled your nostrils. You felt like throwing up your breakfast, and Andrew makes no effort to retain his own as he starts barfing it all up. Nasty! To top things off, the other Grimer looks really pissed after witnessing his partner being so roughly mistreated, and dives towards your Pokémon in anger, arms flailing as he Pounds the both of your Pokémon. Gaius unleashes his might yet again with another burst of Outrage in retaliation, pounding the Grimer over and over again with a combo of bites, slashes and dragon flares, only to be stopped short by a single, but well-placed Pound to the face. Gaius tries to regain his bearings, but it seems that after all that thrashing, plus the slight concussion to his head, that may just take a while; by his looks you could tell he was very much Confused! The Grimer may be slow, but they were bulky, and it was almost like they had bricks for fists. If what Andrew said was correct, there was probably still yet another Grimer inside, but given the current circumstances, it was probably best to take things outside. The ventilation system seemed to be damaged, and with the poison gas floating around, time was ticking even more against you.

"D-dude!" Andrew exclaimed while still trying to control his excessive coughing, gagging a bit spastically in between coughs. "Don't you guys work in groups or something? You have to call for back-up man! This is too much!" Call for back up... as if. A little bit of extra pressure always brings the best in someone though, right?

What will you do?

::Ampere Beach::

Emp: You knew you had to take Robbie's commands seriously. Last time, Guppi had payed dearly by underestimating his opponent, and this time around, you wouldn't want to take any risks. As Snookie starts gathering massive amounts of energy while rushing towards her rival, you order your own golden karp to take evasive maneouvers to dodge the attack at all costs. Guppi waits for the perfect opportunity to Bounce high into safety, but Snookie simply had gathered too much momentum and rams your Magikarp with her Giga Impact explosively like a torpedo. It was like trying to jump over a bullet, and luck simply wasn't on your Pokémon's side. But Guppi wasn't down and out from that just yet, and though he was certainly reeling from the attack, he had the guts to keep fighting until the very end, Flailing back even stronger and wilder than before, with almost as too much power for a Magikarp. The crowed was wowed; they had gathered expecting a senseless Splash-fest and instead they were treated with a far more epic battle than they could have ever hoped from these combatants. Taking the attack in full, Snookie looks clearly in pain, and Robbie cursed so much even a sailor would turn his head in secondhand embarassment. She tries to retaliate, but her body is far too exhausted for more, and though Guppi was looking similarly tired, he takes the opportunity to succesfully Bounce yet once again, falling like a sack of potatoes straight into his opponent. This time, the attack seems to be extra effective as Snookie finds herself Paralyzed from the impact. A critical hit! You were sure you had this in the bag, and yet, she still seemed lively enough to keep fighting. In the end, both Magikarp were simply too weak to overcome each other's endurance, and by the looks of things, either one would more likely faint from exhaustion than from a solid KO. After all this, it would be a real shame if you still wounded up losing to this punk...

Robbie wasn't one to stall for time, and he encourages his Pokémon to keep fighting hard. A moment you see the hulked up man pointing fingers and screaming orders; the next you see a Pelipper swooping down in front of you; and the next, there was no Snookie.... wait, what? Robbie seems completely perplexed about the event that suddenly unfolded before him, and it takes a while to digest what had just happened. "S-S-SNOOOOOOOKIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!!!" He then screams in despair. "WOWOWOWOWO- HEEEEEEY! THAT'S MY MAGIKARP! HEEEY!" He starts swimming in vain as the Pelipper flew into the ocean. Good thing it wasn't yours, but then again, nobody deserves to have their Pokémon eaten like that. Perhaps you could do something about it, but on the other hand, why should you? This isn't your fault... right?

What will you do?

::Seaside City::

Charminions: Buckling under the intensity of the old man's gaze, you're quick to point fingers to the one who started this all. "Hey, what da hell?" Devon snapped. "You agreed to this, man! But yeah, I started it. What of it?" He returned a gaze almost as intense to the bald-headed luchador. The Bucanero combs his 'stache with his huge fingers, as if thinking about the situation carefully, turning his eyes to and fro between opposites ends of the ring as he studied you both. "Son, that Combusken of yours got potential. Could make it to the league if he wanted to." He then finally said. Potential! Potential! The Chatot began cawing. "But you need to work on your attitude, boy. Wrestling isn't only about flashy moves, it's about attitude and guts. Right or wrong, if you're commiting yourself to something stick to your guns until the end! You will learn to develop your character. You will learn to have your wits about and you will learn to use your environment - your ring - in your favor as if it was an extension of your body! Wrestling, is for those with passion!" Passion! Passion! "And this goes for you all! First, from this moment onwards, this is my ring! If you want this to be yours, you'll have to prove yourselves to me! You came here because you needed guidance to be strong, to be charismatic, to be a star! Stick through my training today, and you will be rewarded for your efforts! Now..." he paused, carefully looking at each and everyone of the students, his gaze eventually meeting once again with yours, "who will volunteer into this ring with me?"

What will you do?

::The Black Swan::

-Hayward-: You were caught off guard by the appearance of the eerie Snorlax, and right off the bat your Pokémon position themselves to strike at a moment's notice; Hynéo growling menacingly while Medéo adopts the approriate stance for the situation. Though its gaze was unnerving, you regain your composure and figure that perhaps you could reason with it and have it join you. Introducing yourself and explaining your intentions, you open the invitation to have it accompany you in your quest for loot and treasure, trying to appeal to the pirate Pokémon's greed as you showed him a neatly polished Premier Ball. Hopefully, and just like that, he would join you in your merry exploration throughout the haunted ship!

His expression remaining ever the same, the Snorlax studies you for a good and long moment, as if trying to figure out if this was some sort of trick, or if you were actually serious. Suddenly, it bursted out in laughter, his bellow echoing eeriely throughout the ship, sounding both grave and shrill at the same time, as if voiced by some mismatched chorus of people. Wether or not this was your intention, it seemed to have regarded your gesture as highly amusing somehow. Quieting down, it simply smiles wide before shaking its head from side to side. Its answer was clear: No. However, it then extends its arm towards you, paw facing upwards as if expecting you to give him something. A sense of great danger still inpregnated the air, but perhaps you could resolve this without resorting to violence, and even gain an ally in the process... for the right price.

What will you do?

::Crater Lake::

jolteonjak: You attempt to ask Pedro about what is going on, using your rough Spanish for communication, though unfortunately he gave you no answer at all, looking rather entranced as he stared off into the horizon, paying no attention to either you, Cyndaquil or Heracross. Though you would press the issue further, you're surprised at the sight of the other two guests, and you feel relief as you notice their scuba gear. They're probably here to investigate the incident after all! That kinda seemed unlikely though, how could they possibly have come here so fast? Probably it was merely a strange coincidence? This wasn't time to be mulling over it though; rest and food was top priority. You make a mental note to keep a close eye on those two before moving in with your partners, closing the door, of course, as you do. You hear the footsteps of the duo going up to their rooms, though other than them, the lodge felt rather vacant for the most part. You wander around until you hear the sudden sound of plates being moved around. Following the source of the noise you find yourself walking into a large dinning room. A long table was set up, and you gathered it could easily hold over twenty seats. At the far end you see what appears to be a young woman with long, braided, brown hair, wearing a simple one-piece, forest-green dress. She seemed to be busy moving about, setting up the table with such grace even a Liepard would be jealous. Barely any noises were made.

"Oh, hello there!" She greeted you with a warm smile. "Dad told me about you! Please take a seat, I'll give you some nice grub in a minute. You all must be starving! Saw anything interesting out there, by the way?" She took the initiative with the questions. Curiously enough, she did not seemed troubled at all by the event earlier, or perhaps it was something she didn't want to talk about.

How will you respond?

::The Lighthouse::

Marion Ette: Your curiosity piqued by Gustaf's comment, you press the issue further, politely asking about the why's of the statement. Why did he need to lock the door? Thieves? Probably not, but it was a safe enough question to probe for the truth. However, at the sight of the blue-ish wisps of flame floating overseas, you stop playing games and instead straightforwardly ask about what those could possibly be.

"Hitodama." You hear a response, though the answer came not from the old man but rather from Gastly himself. "Yet another of the many manifestations of a living creature's soul. It's sentient flame in appearance, but far different in essence from my own Onibi. If I recall properly, you should've been most familiar with these, in fact. Amnesia must've struck you hard, eh Kikyo? Hopefully it at least boosted your special defense!" He started laughing out loud. "Ignore the horrible joke. What is this, a role-playing game?" He kept chuckling as if being remembered of some inside joke.

"Your partner would be correct; those were once people." Gustaf seconded. But, wait... he understoood? Gastly wasn't speaking in human language moments ago, though your ethereal companion wasn't particularly shocked by this new revelation; he almost seemed to be expecting it even. The old man simply continued speaking, his eyes fixating ever in the same spot. "It's history, though recent. Must've been five decades ago when these lands were ravaged by war. A prince from a far away country, murdered on a public appearance. Fingers were pointed, alliances were made, and all hell broke loose for seven long years. Many ships were swallowed by the blood-tainted ocean. So many lives lost at sea; angry lives, sad lives, frustrated lives, proud lives, courageous lives. They wander aimlessly, oh yes, they wander the vast and almost endless ocean, looking for a guiding light to follow. This beacon draws them near, it gives them hope, but what they don't know, priestess, is that beneath this tower lies a ancient terror far more terrifying than the petty squabble of men. They come here only to have their essence consumed, like moth to flame. You ask why I lock the door? It's safe up here, and I don't want to risk that thing coming in. So is the room downstairs, I've taken measures. Anywere else you won't want to be once night falls. Now, let me ask you this, lass, do you believe in death after death?"

Marion Ette: Your curiosity piqued by Gustaf's comment, you press the issue further, politely asking about the why's of the statement. Why did he need to lock the door? Thieves? Probably not, but it was a safe enough question to probe for the truth. However, at the sight of the blue-ish wisps of flame floating overseas, you stop playing games and instead straightforwardly ask about what those could possibly be.

"Hitodama." You hear a response, though the answer came not from the old man but rather from Gastly himself. "Yet another of the many manifestations of a living creature's soul. It's sentient flame in appearance, but far different in essence from my own Onibi. If I recall properly, you should've been most familiar with these, in fact. Amnesia must've struck you hard, eh Kikyo? Hopefully it at least boosted your special defense!" He started laughing out loud. "Ignore the horrible joke. What is this, a role-playing game?" He kept chuckling as if being remembered of some inside joke.

"Your partner would be correct; those were once people." Gustaf seconded. But, wait... he understoood? Gastly wasn't speaking in human language moments ago, though your ethereal companion wasn't particularly shocked by this new revelation; he almost seemed to be expecting it even. The old man simply continued speaking, his eyes fixating ever in the same spot. "It's history, though recent. Must've been five decades ago when these lands were ravaged by war. A prince from a far away country, murdered on a public appearance. Fingers were pointed, alliances were made, and all hell broke loose for seven long years. Many ships were swallowed by the blood-tainted ocean. So many lives lost at sea; angry lives, sad lives, frustrated lives, proud lives, courageous lives. They wander aimlessly, oh yes, they wander the vast and almost endless ocean, looking for a guiding light to follow. This beacon draws them near, it gives them hope, but what they don't know, priestess, is that beneath this tower lies a ancient terror far more terrifying than the petty squabble of men. They come here only to have their essence consumed, like moth to flame. You ask why I lock the door? It's safe up here, and I don't want to risk that thing coming in. So is the room downstairs, I've taken measures. Anywere else you won't want to be once night falls. Now, let me ask you this, lass, do you believe in death after death?"

How will you respond?

Hitodama. The moment Kikyo hears the word, a flood of memories washes over her; not Kikyo's memories, of course, but Marion's own recollections of pouring over books in the wee hours of the morning as her dear Litwick, Gwyn, provided his light and peered over her shoulder at the articles and books she had collected soon after trading for the little candle Pokemon. These sources mentioned the lore surrounding these ghostly flames, and how they may be connected somehow to Litwick and its evolution chain. Even Gustaf's description of the "Terror," with its consumption of lost souls, was reminiscent of lore surrounding Litwick and its evolved forms. Marion dearly wished that little Gwyn could be with her right now... Perhaps he would be able to shed some light on the situation (no pun intended).

Marion is struck by Gastly's little joke about Role-Playing Games. Would a priestess in a lighthouse know anything about such things? Could Marion even be sure of what time period they were in? Certainly, she could be inhabiting the body of a more contemporary miko... She was carrying Pokeballs, after all. Of course, Pokemon-related technology was not really her area of expertise. Let's see, when were Pokeballs invented, again...? Marion decides to respond with a melodic laugh and a simple response; "If life were a game, I'd like to think that the rules would be a little more clear-cut. Of course, I would likely break them anyhow~"

The tone becomes more serious as Gustaf chimes in. It was certainly strange that he could understand what her Gastly was saying, but Marion was less inclined to think of it as odd considering that she had grown up with a similar talent. Instead, her mind focuses on the story that Gustaf tells, which sounds to Marion like a retelling of the events leading up to the First World War. Five decades later... That would be... Well, if the war began in 1914, they would probably be somewhere in the mid 60's or early 70's. Then again, even if she were right, how would that knowledge help her with this Ancient Terror?

It is around this time that Kikyo is asked a question that many people would find strange, even nonsensical; "Do you believe in death after death?" The thought of it sends a chill up Marion's spine. She imagined that this awful feeling deep within her gut was what most other people felt about physical death. No, what Gustav described was far more terrifying... a true death, a death that erased body, soul, mind and heart... An end so complete that nothing would be left. If this Ancient Terror was indeed consuming souls and destroying the very essence of being as Gustaf had described, then the Terror truly was a horrific thing, far beyond the danger than even Man presented against Himself.

"I shudder to think that such a concept could be true... but I am not so presumptuous to confirm or deny such a phenomenon occurring. Indeed, it may be so. I would very much like to say I believe it to be false, but something inside nags at me, tells me that I cannot let my fear throw me into denial of what may be the truth."

Kikyo pauses for a moment. "...What of this Ancient Terror, then? Please, Sir Gustaf... Please tell me more about it. As terrifying as it may be, I want to understand exactly what is going on here. I want to know if there is a way that I can save these wayward spirits from utter destruction, and bring them the hope they so desperately long for. Please..." Marion peers through Kikyo's eyes with an intense expression, indeed hoping that she may be able to provide some help to these lost souls.

Whale Island - 15

Raine’s Wildlife Park

Pengyzu: The arctic winds chill against you face which was growing paler by the second, if there was one thing you’d learnt about Empoleon it was not to get too close to their chicks. The emperor penguin was rounding on Allon who rattled in fear, his neck craning overhead and his jagged flippers closing off any escape routes. There was no way you could take the towering avian, so you start to rack together a getaway plan with a considerable amount of effort. Plucking a Pokéball from your inventory, you toss behind the barrier. Cracking open on the floor, Kara quickly takes shape on the brink of the enclosure – still not rested from her earlier skirmish. She stays put as you bowl over the barricade, yelling orders to Allon whose eye flicks toward you and quickly back to Empoleon. You could only cross your fingers as the events unfolded. The penguins head jerked forward in quick pecks as he Attacked the magnet with paternal Fury – the chinking of metal suggesting that whilst ineffective they were still taking their toll on Allon. Sooner or later the Magnemite returns fire, sparks flying from the poles of his magnets as he let loose a Thunder Wave.

The Empoleon’s attempt to jerk in for another peck falter as his neck seizes up in paralysis, Kara seeing this as his queue. He suddenly disappears in a blink of purple light, reappearing on the iceberg inches behind Allon. The bird squawks in a mixture of surprise and rage as he starts to charge a Water Pulse within his beak. The magnet blinks and lets out a Flash of light reminiscent of a Polaroid camera, momentarily blinding the penguin and sending his attack over Kara’s shoulder for a complete misfire. The watery blast smashes against the wall of ice causing it to collapse – the two Pokémon seeing this as their queue to leave. Kara quickly seizes onto Allon’s handles and Teleports them safely out of the enclosure as falling chunks of ice crash where they were stood. You let out a sigh of relief as the Empoleon sways drunkenly in its daze, mwaping blindly at the culprits who were safe out of harms way. Although you could stare at the rookery of Piplup for hours, the Empoleon’s stony glare is enough to spoil the view. Looking to settle your unease, you make your way toward a Dewgong exhibit until a young kid tugs you on the pant leg, “Excuse me, sir. I heard you say something about losing a Pokémon. Well, I’ve just come from The Sharpedo Tanks and there was loads of commotion!” Looks like you had your destination set, but could you brave it?

Rainbow Reef

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman: Without a second to spare, you put your heads together and decide to set course for Eelektrik’s tail with the help of Delilah’s illumination. Worried sick for his partner, Briney takes the lead – his expert breaststroke on par with a high levelled Poliwrath. Stitches start to grow in your guts as you desperately swim in tow trying your best to stay in the Chinchou’s light. Your oxygen tanks were taking the toll of your exhaustion as your heart starts to race. Hope seems to dwindle as the patches of illuminated seafloor show nothing but desolate miles of fish carcasses and hollow shells. Even if you were on the right trail, the lightning fast eel would be hours ahead by now. Until it hits you like a tonne of bricks – the side of an old sunken ship, its splintered mast just meters ahead. The wooden vessel was semi submerged in cold sand and emitted a greenish hue from the slimy moss rotting it.

Scepticism fills the party as you glance at one another, but Delilah seems to insist that this sunken ship would be the dwelling of any deep sea predators. With a deep gulp you press on through a large tear in the side of the vessel. The silence is unnerving as you inspect the once inhabitable rooms that had decayed over the ages. Passing through a wide hole in the floorboards you find yourself in what appeared to be the captain’s quarters. Delilah’s antennae do a full scan of the room: You spot a table snapped in two on the floor, a shelf full of wine bottles that had shattered under the intense pressure and... A skeleton! You all reel back in panic, barely catching sight of a strange Red Orb clasped jealously within its bony fist. Briney however remains fixated on the relic, his eyes reflecting its redish hue until danger strikes again. This sudden jolt of panic seems to have lured the Eelektrik out of the shadows, Delilah now moving her light onto the predator who’d blocked the way out. It was holding a comatose Slowpoke by its tail, its pink skin pale white through loss of blood... What will you do?

The Caverns

Celebii: Whilst you’d made it this far, dreams of an early retirement in a Seaside City condo are quickly cut short as you manage to inadvertently trip the trove’s security system. Soulless marching sends ripples down the mound of gold as the half a dozen Golett round in on you - their flashlight eyes moving up your body, then over to your ragtag accomplices who had their hands held high in surrender. Harshly outnumbered, you quickly call on reinforcements in hopes of escaping the caverns in one piece. Two balls clunk on the coin-strewn floor before cracking open in a flash of light, Larry giving off a faltered bark which is immediately drowned by Nahkrin’s bloodthirsty roar. The guards look as stone-faced and emotionless as ever by this impressive entrance, communicating in strange beeps as they rally toward you. You quickly rack up a plan to take out the sentinels – focusing on one Golett at a time as you volley a set of orders.

Pumped for battle Nahkrin kicks off the skirmish, by sharpening his white Claws and homing in on the centremost Golett. Neptune quickly follows up as he slides down his mound of gold and by your side, spurring off a jet of Scalding water that hits one of the robots its bluish metal hide colouring a shade of red for a second. It doesn’t have a chance to regain its footing as Boing springs into action, volleying an Energy Ball which smacks it further out of the firing line. Larry finishes this assault by shooting off a Pulse of Water, the blue sphere bursting against the sentry causing it to rattle as it slides back a few feet. To your amazement the Pokémon continues to march toward you, although he seems a bit out of the loop as the rest of the guard form retaliation... In complete unison, five of the unscathed Golett slam their boots into the ground making the whole cave shake and shudder. Coins ripple down the trove as rubble falls from the ceiling - the Earthquake knocking a few of your smaller recruits off their feet whilst Nahkrin attempts to take flight. Larry whimpers as he struggles to his feet, the most hard done by the assault.

Once the seismic activity passes, Nahkrin gives up trying to lift off the ground and stomps forward claws bared. The spiny dragon quickly lets loose a Night Slash, swiping across the target Golett’s chest. For a split second, nothing happens. Then, the robot starts to rattle and clank, his yellow eyes flickering off as he falls apart on the cave floor. One down! Five to go! Neptune wags his fingers rhythmically, the tips flickering white as his Metronome conjures a random attack. Boing pumps the last of his grass reserves into another Energy Ball which bowls into a new target. Larry narrowly avoids the attack as he Charges into the firing line, his body combusting as he rams into the same robot. Flames burst from the impact as the two break away, the metal monster panting in fatigue. The sentinels once again slam the earth with all their weight – however the target Golett is cut off as Wartortle finally leaps in with a Sucker Punch - causing a Magnitude 10 on the Richter Scale. Your squad quickly regain their footing looking ready for more action; bar Larry who’s hanging on by the skin of his teeth after another super effective blow. What will you do?

Kakatua Lagoon

Balmund: Deciding to hold off any escape plans for just a little longer, you courteously accept the mermaid’s dinner invitation. You then feel a slight pang of guilt, too caught up in the day’s events to learn the girl’s name. She pauses for a moment as she considers you “Melćna. Is what the land people called me...” She then giggles and tugs your arm, pulling you toward a wide fissure which led to a large network of tunnels – barely illuminated by the sapphire stalagmites. It takes a great deal of effort to get the hang of your tail, but one swish of it would propel you much further than your legs ever could. You bump into the sides of the channel several times, but your skin seems tougher somehow. A spike in the ceiling crumbles against your shoulder as you lose control of your tailfin – it should’ve torn through your skin like paper but it didn’t. Not long passes until you get used to the newfangled appendage, your steamline fins and water-resistant scales making it easy to keep in tow of the siren. “You’re a natural!” she comments.

After a long swim through the labyrinth of tunnels you finally break into another large chamber made into an extravagant dining room. A long rock table separated two crystal-strewn thrones. A great sapphire chandelier dangled in the centre of the cavern as long thickets of seaweed danced around the empty corners. Being the gentleman you pull out a chair for the mermaid before gliding toward the opposite end of the table. Sitting as best you could you spot something carved into the side of the table that you have to squint to decipher. SHE LIES You jerk back in momentary shock before attempting to mask your fear. She beams at you, looking down at the vacant table top before pursing her lips and releasing a sharp whistle.

Your ears ring for a few moments, until your attention is suddenly drawn to fissure where a brigade of servers just barged in lugging large platters of food. The kitchen team of Crawdaunt, Qwilfish and Octillery weren’t merfolk, but you can’t help but notice human characteristics etched in their faces. Indeed, the crustacean’s moustache-like appendage above his beak that gave him a haughty French look. You lose your chain of thought as the silver cloches slide down the table, the Octillery wrapping its tentacles around the lids and unveiling a feast fit for a king... Dishes of Shellder were still steaming as goo drizzled from their cores, a platter of Remoraid kippers lined in a perfect circle and what looked like a Krabby cocktail lay marinated in a rich sauce. You wanted to try everything until the largest cloche was removed, unveiling a plump Whiscash cut into segments – brandishing an apple in its mouth like a hog roast. The second you stare into its unblinking eyes you spot the resemblance. There was no doubt about it. It was your friend Moku...

Hydro-Electric Dam

Myahoo: The battle raged on and your plan to evade damage seemed to have backfired as sparks flew up and down the echidna’s fur – his muscles stiff and immobile. You let off another volley of orders in hopes of helping Wildfire out of this sticky situation. You strain your eyes amidst the pillars of black smoke, barely able to spot two shadows in the fray. One of the silhouettes lights up in a flash of electricity, letting loose another Shockwave which resonates down the arena. Wildfire attempts to make a run for it, but his paralysis kicks in and his hindlegs lock up. The Blitzle then cantors forward, its hooves catching fire as he rams the rodent with a Flame Charge. Wildfire tumbles out of the smoke like a rag doll, which indirectly creates the distance you hoped for. He paws back to his feet before belching up another cloud of haze, adding another Screen of Smoke to the riverside. The foal seems to have cottoned onto this tactic by now and discharges a second Shockwave. The wave of electricity courses outward, smacking Cyndaquil who squeaks in pain. Keeping his footing, Wildfire tails off the round with an Extrasensory. The golden beam of ploughs through the smoke hitting the Blitzle in the nuzzle. The equine kicks its forelegs in bewilderment, the psychic attack managing to bewilder it. Both Pokémon were looking beat up, it was now all or nothing. What will you do?

Crater Lake

Itzatrap: The Blitzle’s hooves barely miss you by inches as you reel into the corner of the stable. As quick as it had leaped from its pen the foal was now cantering toward the exit, veering past the haystacks and boxes at breakneck speed. Thinking almost instinctively you brandish another Pokéball which cracks open on a mesh of hoof prints revealing the Keane the Scyther. Without a second to lose you toss the lasso to the Mantis who manages to wrap it around his scythe without cutting it – sending him in hot pursuit of the zebra. Keane’s wings flicker to blurs as he picks up off the ground, taking chase with a piercing buzz. Despite the significant head start, the bug proves to be the right Pokémon for the job as he zooms toward the stable doors at mach speed. He acrobatically arcs over the haystacks in his way, quickly closing the distance much to Bolt’s chagrin. The two were nearing the bright daylight of the corral when Keane slowed down to take aim, the foal letting off a bolt of lightning which missed by inches. The tangles of rope suddenly shot forward, your heart racing as the noose flew ahead of the Blitzle who was still at top speed. In the blink of an eye, the lasso slung around the zebra’s nuzzle and slipped down to its neck. It hadn’t decelerated, now galloping faster than ever in hopes of shaking the mantis free.

The two broke out into the corral and you see this as your queue to call on Olli to finish the job. Catching up - albeit with a painful stitch - a quick switcheroo lands Keane back in his Pokéball and Olli hanging onto the lasso with great difficulty. The monkey meets eyes with his foe and lets off a Leer, which manages to startle the Blitzle out of its aggressive kicking but isn’t nearly enough to tame it. Digging his feet into the loamy soil, Olli follows up quickly with a Nasty Plot which boosts his brainpower. The zebra neighs again, kicking its hind legs and giving the chimp a boot to the face! Olli squeals in a mixture of pain and rage, the Stomp causing a hoof shaped bruised underneath his eye. This act of rebellion is enough to coax him into attack, bursting into Flames and Wheeling forward. Fires scorching the arid pasture, the Chimchar finally closes into the foal ramming into his saddle and knocking him off balance. Showing he’s still got fight left in him yet, Bolt finishes with a Shock Wave – the outburst of energy knocking Olli off his feet as he struggles to get a hold back on the zebra’s lasso. What will you do?

Cascade Waterfall

Kaisap: Mulling over your options, you finally cave and let Kitty fight the grouchy owl. The kittens pink fur was on end as she raised her rump into a pouncing motion – licking her lips as her paw-like tail swayed in the breeze. The Hoothoot was clipped its beak again as it swooped forward for a Peck. Claws suddenly bare, the feline suddenly Faked left before taking the bird Out from the right with a swipe! Knocking the owl off its perch it hooted wildly before landing on a lower branch. Its bloodshot eyes dawned on Kitty, flickering a shade of blue as pulsed off another Confusion. The psychic salvo knocks the Skitty off balance, nearly falling off the branch before catching herself with her tail. You brace yourself to try and catch the cat, but she’s quick to hoist herself up and leap toward the Hoothoot. Lowering her head Kitty Tackles into the owl sending brown feathers everywhere as the two struggle the break apart. The owl concedes, jumping off the branch and flapping its stubby wings to stay airborne. Still in mid-air, the Hoothoot lets loose another screech, Kitty sticking her paws in her ears in a feeble attempt to block out the painful Uproar. What will you do?

Balmund: Deciding to hold off any escape plans for just a little longer, you courteously accept the mermaid’s dinner invitation. You then feel a slight pang of guilt, too caught up in the day’s events to learn the girl’s name. She pauses for a moment as she considers you “Melćna. Is what the land people called me...” She then giggles and tugs your arm, pulling you toward a wide fissure which led to a large network of tunnels – barely illuminated by the sapphire stalagmites. It takes a great deal of effort to get the hang of your tail, but one swish of it would propel you much further than your legs ever could. You bump into the sides of the channel several times, but your skin seems tougher somehow. A spike in the ceiling crumbles against your shoulder as you lose control of your tailfin – it should’ve torn through your skin like paper but it didn’t. Not long passes until you get used to the newfangled appendage, your steamline fins and water-resistant scales making it easy to keep in tow of the siren. “You’re a natural!” she comments.

After a long swim through the labyrinth of tunnels you finally break into another large chamber made into an extravagant dining room. A long rock table separated two crystal-strewn thrones. A great sapphire chandelier dangled in the centre of the cavern as long thickets of seaweed danced around the empty corners. Being the gentleman you pull out a chair for the mermaid before gliding toward the opposite end of the table. Sitting as best you could you spot something carved into the side of the table that you have to squint to decipher. SHE LIES You jerk back in momentary shock before attempting to mask your fear. She beams at you, looking down at the vacant table top before pursing her lips and releasing a sharp whistle.

Your ears ring for a few moments, until your attention is suddenly drawn to fissure where a brigade of servers just barged in lugging large platters of food. The kitchen team of Crawdaunt, Qwilfish and Octillery weren’t merfolk, but you can’t help but notice human characteristics etched in their faces. Indeed, the crustacean’s moustache-like appendage above his beak that gave him a haughty French look. You lose your chain of thought as the silver cloches slide down the table, the Octillery wrapping its tentacles around the lids and unveiling a feast fit for a king... Dishes of Shellder were still steaming as goo drizzled from their cores, a platter of Remoraid kippers lined in a perfect circle and what looked like a Krabby cocktail lay marinated in a rich sauce. You wanted to try everything until the largest cloche was removed, unveiling a plump Whiscash cut into segments – brandishing an apple in its mouth like a hog roast. The second you stare into its unblinking eyes you spot the resemblance. There was no doubt about it. It was your friend Moku...

"Melćna..." He had whispered to himself as she said her name. It had a sweet ring to it, just like honey.

Accepting her invitation for dinner, Balmund is lead through a network of tunnels before ultimately reaching their dinning spot. His swimming was clumsy at best, but he could definitely swim better than without his tail by far, and moreover, he felt strong and tough, more than he ever had during his entire life. Even rock crumbled against his skin. The power... that was something he could definitely get used to.

Reaching the fabulous dinning table, Balmund pulls out a chair for the mermaid like a true gentleman before taking one himself on the opposite end. The sight of a warning carved unto it suddenly started ringing alarms in his head. He already had the suspicion that he definitely wouldn't be the first to be charmed by this dangerous lady. His expresion darkened just a little bit, but Balmund pretended nothing was going on for the time being, at least until he gathered more information and got to the bottom of this. He knew how she was transformed, but he still didn't how he got into his current state.

With a kitchen-full of marine Pokémon preparing their dishes, the couple is served a royal feast unlike what he had ever seen before. It was enough to get any mouth watering and possibly even turn tofu lovers to the proper path once again. Everything changes completely however, as the final and main dish is reveal: a large and plum roasted Wiscash. There was something very off about its face... its expression. Could it be... Moku?! How? Balmund had a hard time believing it, but at the same time he knew, deep inside, what the horrifying truth really was. Had she gotten to the other two as well? What about Chris and Sothe? He just had to find out, and for that, he had to get back into his mental game. He too was a man of many inner demons. He had seen horrible things, and he was sure capable of many himself if he absolutely needed to.

Balmund glares at the siren with accusational eyes, as if letting her know through his gaze that he was not oblivious at all to what exactly was before him. And then, he transforms... Balmund's face adopting a sweet yet somewhat twisted grin as he extends his arm to take a piece of Moku with his hands; his eyes ever locked with that of Melćna as he takes a nice bite out of it. Your move now, hun. He thought to himself. Sorry, Moku. I guess you, of all people, wouldn't mind, eh? You're delicious, by the way.

Myahoo: The battle raged on and your plan to evade damage seemed to have backfired as sparks flew up and down the echidna’s fur – his muscles stiff and immobile. You let off another volley of orders in hopes of helping Wildfire out of this sticky situation. You strain your eyes amidst the pillars of black smoke, barely able to spot two shadows in the fray. One of the silhouettes lights up in a flash of electricity, letting loose another Shockwave which resonates down the arena. Wildfire attempts to make a run for it, but his paralysis kicks in and his hindlegs lock up. The Blitzle then cantors forward, its hooves catching fire as he rams the rodent with a Flame Charge. Wildfire tumbles out of the smoke like a rag doll, which indirectly creates the distance you hoped for. He paws back to his feet before belching up another cloud of haze, adding another Screen of Smoke to the riverside. The foal seems to have cottoned onto this tactic by now and discharges a second Shockwave. The wave of electricity courses outward, smacking Cyndaquil who squeaks in pain. Keeping his footing, Wildfire tails off the round with an Extrasensory. The golden beam of ploughs through the smoke hitting the Blitzle in the nuzzle. The equine kicks its forelegs in bewilderment, the psychic attack managing to bewilder it. Both Pokémon were looking beat up, it was now all or nothing. What will you do?

Melissa cursed under her breath when the paralysis prevented her starter from escaping under his own terms and when the Blitzle sent out another Shock Wave; at least Wildfire had been able to pull off the Extrasensory, even if the Smokescreen wasn’t doing much to help anymore. From the brief moment she’d been able to see the echidna, though, it looked like he was getting tired. The teen once again cursed the paralysis her Cyndaquil was afflicted with, as she would otherwise have ordered him to use Dig without a second thought. She ran a hand through her hair, running her mind over the moves available to them and settling on something simple.

Pulling out a Pokeball (4/5), she called out to Wildfire, “Use Leer to frighten it and then move a little before you use Ember, so it won’t get you too easily. Then, use another Extrasensory. Try to watch out for that Shock Wave, if you can, Wildfire.” The teen bit her lip as she anxiously watched the two Pokemon, rolling the empty Pokeball between her fingers; after all this effort into wearing it down, she figured she might as well take the Blitzle with her. Besides, who knew when she’d next need a Pokemon that could help her move fast?

Itzatrap: The Blitzle’s hooves barely miss you by inches as you reel into the corner of the stable. As quick as it had leaped from its pen the foal was now cantering toward the exit, veering past the haystacks and boxes at breakneck speed. Thinking almost instinctively you brandish another Pokéball which cracks open on a mesh of hoof prints revealing the Keane the Scyther. Without a second to lose you toss the lasso to the Mantis who manages to wrap it around his scythe without cutting it – sending him in hot pursuit of the zebra. Keane’s wings flicker to blurs as he picks up off the ground, taking chase with a piercing buzz. Despite the significant head start, the bug proves to be the right Pokémon for the job as he zooms toward the stable doors at mach speed. He acrobatically arcs over the haystacks in his way, quickly closing the distance much to Bolt’s chagrin. The two were nearing the bright daylight of the corral when Keane slowed down to take aim, the foal letting off a bolt of lightning which missed by inches. The tangles of rope suddenly shot forward, your heart racing as the noose flew ahead of the Blitzle who was still at top speed. In the blink of an eye, the lasso slung around the zebra’s nuzzle and slipped down to its neck. It hadn’t decelerated, now galloping faster than ever in hopes of shaking the mantis free.

The two broke out into the corral and you see this as your queue to call on Olli to finish the job. Catching up - albeit with a painful stitch - a quick switcheroo lands Keane back in his Pokéball and Olli hanging onto the lasso with great difficulty. The monkey meets eyes with his foe and lets off a Leer, which manages to startle the Blitzle out of its aggressive kicking but isn’t nearly enough to tame it. Digging his feet into the loamy soil, Olli follows up quickly with a Nasty Plot which boosts his brainpower. The zebra neighs again, kicking its hind legs and giving the chimp a boot to the face! Olli squeals in a mixture of pain and rage, the Stomp causing a hoof shaped bruised underneath his eye. This act of rebellion is enough to coax him into attack, bursting into Flames and Wheeling forward. Fires scorching the arid pasture, the Chimchar finally closes into the foal ramming into his saddle and knocking him off balance. Showing he’s still got fight left in him yet, Bolt finishes with a Shock Wave – the outburst of energy knocking Olli off his feet as he struggles to get a hold back on the zebra’s lasso. What will you do?

Keane maneuvers through the field of boxes and hay that block his path magnificently, with Rob grinning, watching his Pokémon catch up with the Pokémon with electrifying energy. An electric energy attack misses Keane by a few inches, "Thank god," he sighed in relief, "his weakness to electric attacks might have caused problems." His relief was short lived though as he looked at Keane try to control the wild horse.

"It's now or never Olli!" Both trainer and Pokémon entered the corral, and the ape seemed more than ready as he took the lasso. The trainer recalled the flying manthis back in its home after a job well done, speaking to his Pokéball, "Thank you for your help Keane, you were wonderful." It was now up to Olli to finish the job, starting out by Leering at the Blitzle, settling down the horse a little, not nearly enough for it to be tamed. Olli continued by thinking of a Nasty Plot to help out during the battle, only it left Olli wide open to get Stomped in the face, leaving the marks of the attack right on his face, taking physical damage and damaging his pride as well.

Turning into a ball of fire, the fiery ape rolled towards the rowdy zebra, knocking it off balance, but also triggering a retaliation as it sends waves of electric energy with Shockwave towards Olli, knocking him off his feet, trying to get the zebra under control.

"Hang in there Olli! Start by provoking the zebra by Taunting it! Then engulf it in a Fire Spin to trap it, and if manages to get out, try another Fire Spin! If it stays in the first Fire Spin, start thinking of the Nasty Plot to help you gain more power while it is trapped!"

-Hayward-: You were caught off guard by the appearance of the eerie Snorlax, and right off the bat your Pokémon position themselves to strike at a moment's notice; Hynéo growling menacingly while Medéo adopts the approriate stance for the situation. Though its gaze was unnerving, you regain your composure and figure that perhaps you could reason with it and have it join you. Introducing yourself and explaining your intentions, you open the invitation to have it accompany you in your quest for loot and treasure, trying to appeal to the pirate Pokémon's greed as you showed him a neatly polished Premier Ball. Hopefully, and just like that, he would join you in your merry exploration throughout the haunted ship!

His expression remaining ever the same, the Snorlax studies you for a good and long moment, as if trying to figure out if this was some sort of trick, or if you were actually serious. Suddenly, it bursted out in laughter, his bellow echoing eeriely throughout the ship, sounding both grave and shrill at the same time, as if voiced by some mismatched chorus of people. Wether or not this was your intention, it seemed to have regarded your gesture as highly amusing somehow. Quieting down, it simply smiles wide before shaking its head from side to side. Its answer was clear: No. However, it then extends its arm towards you, paw facing upwards as if expecting you to give him something. A sense of great danger still inpregnated the air, but perhaps you could resolve this without resorting to violence, and even gain an ally in the process... for the right price.

What will you do?

In the infamous derelict pirate schooner known as The Black Swan, the swashbuckling Snorlax regards Will with a steady gaze as it briefly considers the lad's offer to join up with his crew of treasure hunters. Only a moment later, however, the Hibernation Pokemon breaks out in a hearty laugh that resounds throughout the abandoned wreckage, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the place and causing Will to shudder in fear. With a wide, patronizing grin, Snorlax shakes its shaggy head slowly from side to side before holding out a massive, upturned paw to Will. It's clear that Snorlax has no intention of joining Will's squad, but instead demands that the lad give something over.

A feeling of foreboding hangs heavy in the cabin, and Will drags a hand through his short brown hair as he momentarily wonders to himself what item he possesses that the buccaneer bear might possibly want. Lost in thought, Will absentmindedly places the rejected premier ball back into his grey side-strap courier bag, but as he glances inside, his gaze suddenly falls on the crystal eye Medeo found while they were ransacking the place earlier, which he had tucked away for safe keeping, and he suddenly bolts with astonishment at the realization that perhaps it had once belonged to Snorlax. Wasting no time, Will quickly withdraws the crystal eye from his bag and apprehensively hands it over to the great grizzly...

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman: Without a second to spare, you put your heads together and decide to set course for Eelektrik’s tail with the help of Delilah’s illumination. Worried sick for his partner, Briney takes the lead – his expert breaststroke on par with a high levelled Poliwrath. Stitches start to grow in your guts as you desperately swim in tow trying your best to stay in the Chinchou’s light. Your oxygen tanks were taking the toll of your exhaustion as your heart starts to race. Hope seems to dwindle as the patches of illuminated seafloor show nothing but desolate miles of fish carcasses and hollow shells. Even if you were on the right trail, the lightning fast eel would be hours ahead by now. Until it hits you like a tonne of bricks – the side of an old sunken ship, its splintered mast just meters ahead. The wooden vessel was semi submerged in cold sand and emitted a greenish hue from the slimy moss rotting it.

Scepticism fills the party as you glance at one another, but Delilah seems to insist that this sunken ship would be the dwelling of any deep sea predators. With a deep gulp you press on through a large tear in the side of the vessel. The silence is unnerving as you inspect the once inhabitable rooms that had decayed over the ages. Passing through a wide hole in the floorboards you find yourself in what appeared to be the captain’s quarters. Delilah’s antennae do a full scan of the room: You spot a table snapped in two on the floor, a shelf full of wine bottles that had shattered under the intense pressure and... A skeleton! You all reel back in panic, barely catching sight of a strange Red Orb clasped jealously within its bony fist. Briney however remains fixated on the relic, his eyes reflecting its redish hue until danger strikes again. This sudden jolt of panic seems to have lured the Eelektrik out of the shadows, Delilah now moving her light onto the predator who’d blocked the way out. It was holding a comatose Slowpoke by its tail, its pink skin pale white through loss of blood... What will you do?

As Hyrem, Andy, and their Pokemon set out to pursue an Eelektrik with predatory intent, Hyrem could see Capt. Briney swim ahead of the group, clearly worried for his Slowpoke. Delilah was swimming pretty fast, as she needed to in order to stand a chance of finding the eel, but this left the rest struggling to catch up to avoid being left in the dark depths of Rainbow Reef's trenches. Hyrem wasn't about to ask Delilah to slow down, though; he knew as much as Delilah how urgent this rescue was. Still, his body was starting to get tired, his foot throbbing again from being forced to propel him forward so quickly, and he knew this chase was using quite a bit of oxygen in the process. As they continued through the deep canyon, old shells and fish carcasses reminded the group that they could be next. Hyrem was almost ready to give up; he was sure this was the right direction to go in, but the eel had to have been ten times faster than they were. It might have already been miles ahead of them, which would give it plenty of time to leisurely enjoy each bite it took of Slowpoke--tail, head, and all.

"Oof! Wow, a sunken ship!" exclaimed Hyrem. "But... are you sure it'd be here, Delilah?" he asked his Chinchou, doubting Eelektrik would only take its catch this far.

"Chou! Chinchou, chou!" she said with certainty, pointing one of her lures towards a big hole in the side of the ship. Well, it did seem like a nice home for bigger fish...

"Okay, well, I... trust you," Hyrem gulped as he went inside the hole with her, hoping this wasn't the home of some other... bigger fish.

The group went through each room, looking for the Eelektrik, but they only found an empty silence which only served to tense them further. A hole in the floor lead them to the captain's quarters. Delilah's lights showed them a few different things: two halves of a table, a bunch of broken wine bottles, a skeleton...

A SKELETON!?

"AH!" screamed Hyrem as he jumped back from the sight of the body of bones holding a Red Orb. Briney seemed interested in it, but Hyrem was a little bit more focused on the Eelektrik that met them and blocked their exit.

"Captain, look! Your Slowpoke!" he shouted, pointing towards the limp Water Pokemon, easily rendered unconscious by the EleFish Pokemon. It then dawned on Hyrem the danger they were in after he noticed Eelektrik's current position. It was done playing with its first prey item and was ready to try for a whole buffet. If they failed to deal with the Eelektrik and deal with it quickly, the trainers risked losing too much oxygen. Even worse, if the trainers' Water Pokemon lost this battle, they'd be at the electric eel's mercy. And it had already shown how merciless it was. Fortunately, the Slowpoke was unconscious, but still alive. Still, they had to be careful not to damage Slowpoke any further.

"All right, Delilah, ready to synch up and battle?"

"Chou!" she called out.

"Okay, let's make it so that eel's ready for Kray to attack! Start out with a Flash to blind it, then Supersonic to mess with it's hearing! If Kray's gotten it to let go of Slowpoke, do a Thunder Wave, but if not, use Flash again!" Hyrem and Delilah were ready with their side of the strategy, now to see what Andy and Kray would do.

Emp: You knew you had to take Robbie's commands seriously. Last time, Guppi had payed dearly by underestimating his opponent, and this time around, you wouldn't want to take any risks. As Snookie starts gathering massive amounts of energy while rushing towards her rival, you order your own golden karp to take evasive maneouvers to dodge the attack at all costs. Guppi waits for the perfect opportunity to Bounce high into safety, but Snookie simply had gathered too much momentum and rams your Magikarp with her Giga Impact explosively like a torpedo. It was like trying to jump over a bullet, and luck simply wasn't on your Pokémon's side. But Guppi wasn't down and out from that just yet, and though he was certainly reeling from the attack, he had the guts to keep fighting until the very end, Flailing back even stronger and wilder than before, with almost as too much power for a Magikarp. The crowed was wowed; they had gathered expecting a senseless Splash-fest and instead they were treated with a far more epic battle than they could have ever hoped from these combatants. Taking the attack in full, Snookie looks clearly in pain, and Robbie cursed so much even a sailor would turn his head in secondhand embarassment. She tries to retaliate, but her body is far too exhausted for more, and though Guppi was looking similarly tired, he takes the opportunity to succesfully Bounce yet once again, falling like a sack of potatoes straight into his opponent. This time, the attack seems to be extra effective as Snookie finds herself Paralyzed from the impact. A critical hit! You were sure you had this in the bag, and yet, she still seemed lively enough to keep fighting. In the end, both Magikarp were simply too weak to overcome each other's endurance, and by the looks of things, either one would more likely faint from exhaustion than from a solid KO. After all this, it would be a real shame if you still wounded up losing to this punk...

Robbie wasn't one to stall for time, and he encourages his Pokémon to keep fighting hard. A moment you see the hulked up man pointing fingers and screaming orders; the next you see a Pelipper swooping down in front of you; and the next, there was no Snookie.... wait, what? Robbie seems completely perplexed about the event that suddenly unfolded before him, and it takes a while to digest what had just happened. "S-S-SNOOOOOOOKIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!!!" He then screams in despair. "WOWOWOWOWO- HEEEEEEY! THAT'S MY MAGIKARP! HEEEY!" He starts swimming in vain as the Pelipper flew into the ocean. Good thing it wasn't yours, but then again, nobody deserves to have their Pokémon eaten like that. Perhaps you could do something about it, but on the other hand, why should you? This isn't your fault... right?

What will you do?

The boy’s instincts were on top form as, just as he’d expected, the female karp shot forward like a torpedo – a cocoon of purple energy spiralling around her the likes of which no Magikarp could match. He felt his fingernails cutting further into his open palms as Guppy attempted to Bounce upward with a slap of his tailfin. It was too late, Snooki was ripping through the water like a jetski and had gathered too much speed to be evaded. Wincing, he looked on helplessly as the koi made Impact, the golden fish hurtling skyward and crashing into the water with a salty spray. Wes felt his heart skip a beat, expecting it all to be over from there. But like a trooper Guppy emerged at the surface, water running off his bruised and bloody scales. A determination was painted on his face the likes of Wes had never seen before – his brow was furrowed and his eyes smouldered with the fury of a thousand Red Gyarados. The trainer was on tenterhooks as the carp shot forward, Sitch tugging onto his hair in suspense. Guppy looked like a fish out of water as he flopped and Flailed with all of his might, catching the foe with a few good tail slaps before the two broke apart. Then the uproar of backsplash settled the enemy Magikarp looked as beat up as Guppy. Robbie swore in frustration fuelling the kid’s building feeling of elation, although the rest of the match was still up in the air.

The crowd of beachgoers toward the shore were pumping their fists and cheering for their favourite Karp and heckling the other. Wes had managed to tune them out for the most part, but he couldn’t help feeling like he had a show to put on. They weren’t disappointing either; anyone would’ve expected a Magikarp showdown to be on par with a Metapod face off, but what they’d produced was an epic yet comical scuffle. Wes focused back on Snooki who was too exhausted after her last attack, leaving her a sitting duck to Guppy’s finisher. Bouncing a good ten feet in the air the karp soared back down like a sack of spuds. The female koi was knocked a good distance under the surf, bobbing back to the surface a few seconds later with sparks flying up and down its body. Wes was thanking his lucky stars – not only had he landed paralysis, but had nailed the foe with a critical hit! Wes felt his nerves ease, cocksure he had this one in the bag. His eyes checked down the wavy arena, both looked knackered with their gills puffing ten to the dozen. He hadn’t counted too heavily on a knockout through fatigue, and his pre-emptive ecstasy slid away. It would all be for nothing, and losing to this Primape of a guy would make him the laughing stock of Ampere Beach.

Wes’s nerves weren’t as sharp as before, and before he could volley more orders the bodybuilder was back on the offense. Hollering the poor Magikarp back into action, it took him a few seconds to cotton onto what Wes and Scraggy had just spotted soaring down from the streaky sky. A white feathery gull with a massive bill was homing in on the two Magikarp when it hit Wes what was happening like a tonne of bricks. He went to order Guppy to duck under water, but it was all over in a flash. The Pelleper had swooped over the surf and taken Snooki in a lightning fast scoop. It took Robbie much longer to digest than Wes. He stared blindly at the spot where his Pokémon had just been, his anger phasing from confusion to sheer panic in one fell swoop. Screaming helplessly toward the open sea were Pelleper was fast headed over the horizon, he lunged into a front crawl in hot pursuit. Wes knew he’d probably never catch the bird who was now quite far ahead, and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. With an arsenal like Snooki’s, she probably could’ve escaped from the gull’s pouch if it wasn’t for Guppy softening her up beforehand. Sitch gave Wes a ‘Do we have to help?’ look, probably set on spending the rest of the afternoon perfecting his tan. Wes nodded reluctantly, “Yes. And you’re the one who’s going to save her.”

Scraggy bowled over in shock nearly dropping into the salty surf, a look of mangled confusion and unease painted on his face. Wes gave a half smile before unzipping his canvas satchel and rummaging through it. It was chock full of suveniers from his travels, some of which were useless: his lucky rabbits foot, zombie mask... the Superhero cape. Yanking the scarlet cloak from beneath the pile of junk, he waved the creases out of revealing the golden ‘FB’ insignia and held it out in front of the lizard. The Situation filled with excitement, he’d always wanted to try out the cape but this was the first time Wes had ever let him. Then realising this wouldn’t be a joyride, the excitement died away and he was nervous again. Tying a knot in the spandex cape it hung neatly around Sitch’s neck. Wes grinned as he held the reptile at arms length, quickly switching to a more serious face.

“Okay Sitch, I want you to Fly into the air and after that Pelliper. If you’ve still got some Sand in your pants, I want you to Attack its vision by rubbing it in the bird’s eyes, then bonk it on the head with a Thunder Punch” He was hoping this would be enough to knock the Pelliper out of flight, or at least grab its attention. As though testing the shawl hadn’t worn out in its many years screwed up in his bag, he slackened his grip on the Scraggy. As though by magic, the lizard started to pick up altitude. Wes nodded with a reassuring thumps up, now fixating on the Pelliper sailing down the horizon and Robbie who was hopelessly in tow. Wes fell into a breaststroke, the tangy saltwater shooting up his nose as he swam further out toward the open sea.

Charminions: Buckling under the intensity of the old man's gaze, you're quick to point fingers to the one who started this all. "Hey, what da hell?" Devon snapped. "You agreed to this, man! But yeah, I started it. What of it?" He returned a gaze almost as intense to the bald-headed luchador. The Bucanero combs his 'stache with his huge fingers, as if thinking about the situation carefully, turning his eyes to and fro between opposites ends of the ring as he studied you both. "Son, that Combusken of yours got potential. Could make it to the league if he wanted to." He then finally said. Potential! Potential! The Chatot began cawing. "But you need to work on your attitude, boy. Wrestling isn't only about flashy moves, it's about attitude and guts. Right or wrong, if you're commiting yourself to something stick to your guns until the end! You will learn to develop your character. You will learn to have your wits about and you will learn to use your environment - your ring - in your favor as if it was an extension of your body! Wrestling, is for those with passion!" Passion! Passion! "And this goes for you all! First, from this moment onwards, this is my ring! If you want this to be yours, you'll have to prove yourselves to me! You came here because you needed guidance to be strong, to be charismatic, to be a star! Stick through my training today, and you will be rewarded for your efforts! Now..." he paused, carefully looking at each and everyone of the students, his gaze eventually meeting once again with yours, "who will volunteer into this ring with me?"

What will you do?

Blaming the one who rightfully asked for the battle, Charm points his fingers towards Devon who responds with a "Hey, what da hell? You agreed to this, man! But yeah, I started it. What of it?" before staring back at the old man with almost the same intensity. The Bucanero accesses the situation, combing his stache, as he looks back and forth between the two trainers.

"Son, that Combusken of yours got potential. Could make it to the league if he wanted to," he finally says. Potential! Potential! his Chatot cawed. "But you need to work on your attitude, boy. Wrestling isn't only about flashy moves, it's about attitude and guts," he scolded. Charm was now getting slightly irritated by that comment, Wrestling? I'm only here because I'm bored. I'm more of a martial arts man, myself, he thought to himself. Saying something like that out loud would put him in even more trouble. The Bucanero continues, "Right or wrong, if you're commiting yourself to something stick to your guns until the end! You will learn to develop your character. You will learn to have your wits about and you will learn to use your environment - your ring - in your favor as if it was an extension of your body! Wrestling, is for those with passion!" Passion! Passion! the Chatot repeats. I committed to a battle, this wrestling stuff is just something to pass the time, Charm wittily thinks to himself.

"And this goes for you all! First, from this moment onwards, this is my ring! If you want this to be yours, you'll have to prove yourselves to me! You came here because you needed guidance to be strong, to be charismatic, to be a star! Stick through my training today, and you will be rewarded for your efforts! Now..." he looks at each of the students before looking back at Charm, "who will volunteer into this ring with me?"

"I guess I have no choice in the matter," Charm relunctantly steps forward, awaiting whatever the Bucanero has planned.

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman: Without a second to spare, you put your heads together and decide to set course for Eelektrik’s tail with the help of Delilah’s illumination. Worried sick for his partner, Briney takes the lead – his expert breaststroke on par with a high levelled Poliwrath. Stitches start to grow in your guts as you desperately swim in tow trying your best to stay in the Chinchou’s light. Your oxygen tanks were taking the toll of your exhaustion as your heart starts to race. Hope seems to dwindle as the patches of illuminated seafloor show nothing but desolate miles of fish carcasses and hollow shells. Even if you were on the right trail, the lightning fast eel would be hours ahead by now. Until it hits you like a tonne of bricks – the side of an old sunken ship, its splintered mast just meters ahead. The wooden vessel was semi submerged in cold sand and emitted a greenish hue from the slimy moss rotting it.

Scepticism fills the party as you glance at one another, but Delilah seems to insist that this sunken ship would be the dwelling of any deep sea predators. With a deep gulp you press on through a large tear in the side of the vessel. The silence is unnerving as you inspect the once inhabitable rooms that had decayed over the ages. Passing through a wide hole in the floorboards you find yourself in what appeared to be the captain’s quarters. Delilah’s antennae do a full scan of the room: You spot a table snapped in two on the floor, a shelf full of wine bottles that had shattered under the intense pressure and... A skeleton! You all reel back in panic, barely catching sight of a strange Red Orb clasped jealously within its bony fist. Briney however remains fixated on the relic, his eyes reflecting its redish hue until danger strikes again. This sudden jolt of panic seems to have lured the Eelektrik out of the shadows, Delilah now moving her light onto the predator who’d blocked the way out. It was holding a comatose Slowpoke by its tail, its pink skin pale white through loss of blood... What will you do?

Originally Posted by Dark Searchman

As Hyrem, Andy, and their Pokemon set out to pursue an Eelektrik with predatory intent, Hyrem could see Capt. Briney swim ahead of the group, clearly worried for his Slowpoke. Delilah was swimming pretty fast, as she needed to in order to stand a chance of finding the eel, but this left the rest struggling to catch up to avoid being left in the dark depths of Rainbow Reef's trenches. Hyrem wasn't about to ask Delilah to slow down, though; he knew as much as Delilah how urgent this rescue was. Still, his body was starting to get tired, his foot throbbing again from being forced to propel him forward so quickly, and he knew this chase was using quite a bit of oxygen in the process. As they continued through the deep canyon, old shells and fish carcasses reminded the group that they could be next. Hyrem was almost ready to give up; he was sure this was the right direction to go in, but the eel had to have been ten times faster than they were. It might have already been miles ahead of them, which would give it plenty of time to leisurely enjoy each bite it took of Slowpoke--tail, head, and all.

"Oof! Wow, a sunken ship!" exclaimed Hyrem. "But... are you sure it'd be here, Delilah?" he asked his Chinchou, doubting Eelektrik would only take its catch this far.

"Chou! Chinchou, chou!" she said with certainty, pointing one of her lures towards a big hole in the side of the ship. Well, it did seem like a nice home for bigger fish...

"Okay, well, I... trust you," Hyrem gulped as he went inside the hole with her, hoping this wasn't the home of some other... bigger fish.

The group went through each room, looking for the Eelektrik, but they only found an empty silence which only served to tense them further. A hole in the floor lead them to the captain's quarters. Delilah's lights showed them a few different things: two halves of a table, a bunch of broken wine bottles, a skeleton...

A SKELETON!?

"AH!" screamed Hyrem as he jumped back from the sight of the body of bones holding a Red Orb. Briney seemed interested in it, but Hyrem was a little bit more focused on the Eelektrik that met them and blocked their exit.

"Captain, look! Your Slowpoke!" he shouted, pointing towards the limp Water Pokemon, easily rendered unconscious by the EleFish Pokemon. It then dawned on Hyrem the danger they were in after he noticed Eelektrik's current position. It was done playing with its first prey item and was ready to try for a whole buffet. If they failed to deal with the Eelektrik and deal with it quickly, the trainers risked losing too much oxygen. Even worse, if the trainers' Water Pokemon lost this battle, they'd be at the electric eel's mercy. And it had already shown how merciless it was. Fortunately, the Slowpoke was unconscious, but still alive. Still, they had to be careful not to damage Slowpoke any further.

"All right, Delilah, ready to synch up and battle?"

"Chou!" she called out.

"Okay, let's make it so that eel's ready for Kray to attack! Start out with a Flash to blind it, then Supersonic to mess with it's hearing! If Kray's gotten it to let go of Slowpoke, do a Thunder Wave, but if not, use Flash again!" Hyrem and Delilah were ready with their side of the strategy, now to see what Andy and Kray would do.

Now that there plan was agreed, the two Trainers set off in search of their target, the Eelektrik. Briney took the lead, obviously concerned an eager to retrieve his Pokemon partner. Andy and Hyrem followed close behind, followed the illuminating beam coming from Delilah antennae.

It was soon starting felt like they had been swimming endless through empty blackness, Andy's arms ached and the tank on his back weighed him down to no end. Exhaustion was beginning to bring about feelings of defeat, both for themselves and for Slowpoke, Andy began to wonder if it would even still be alive by the time they found it, a quick glance across to a grim faced Hyrem seemed to confirm that he was thinking something similar.

"I don't think we're going to find any-"

"Oof!" Came an interrupting noise from Hyrem over the walkie talkie, followed by, "Wow, a sunken ship!"

Andy tried his best to look around his surroundings to find the source of Hyrem's exclamation, and it wasn't long before it hit him, literally. One minute, emptiness, the next Andy found himself smacking into something hard. It must have been the side of the ship that Hyrem had spoken of. Pulling himself back slightly, Andy looked momentarily awed as he took in the sight before him, this was the kind of thing you only saw on tv.

"Are you sure it'd be here, Delilah?" Hyrem's voice crackled over the walkie talkie again, causing Andy to look away from the ship and in their direction. Both Pokemon and it's Trainer floated just next to a hole in the side of the ship's hull, the Chinchou looking as though it was trying to lead them inside. What choice did they have other than to follow?

Although he'd rather they hadn't. The innards of the sunken wreck seem to engulf them in silence, the rooms that they passed through and their contents were covered in dust and decay. Andy was almost sure that at any second the souls of its doomed crew would arise and drag them to a watery grave, the thought made him swim a little quicker, despite his tired limbs, and stick probably a little closer to Hyrem than he normally would have. Slipping through a hole in the floorboards and passing to the lower decks the group arrived in a room, it seemed more lavishly furnished than the others and obviously belong to a more high ranking crew member, maybe even the Captain. In the centre of the room, a wooden table lay split in two, and on the wall nearby a shelf filled with the remains of old bottles that no doubt held wine, or rum, or whatever sailors liked to drink, and then there was...

"AH!"

A sudden scream of terror caused Andy to spin around quickly, bringing him face to face with a bleached white, skeletal face.

"I knew it!" Andy screeched in equal horror, arms and legs flailing, "Oh restless spirits of the deep, please spare me! I'm too young to die!" By now he was flopping and thrashing about much in a similar was as the Gorebyss had on the deck of the boat earlier, desperate to escape his cursed fate. It was at that point Kray swam past him, towards the decaying menace.
"Kray, come back, you'll..." The Corphish ignored his Trainer's pleas and studied the ghastly figure, then tapped it with the side of his claw. The figure remained still, unmoving.

"It's... just a skeleton" Andy said, half laughing in relief, he looked around the rest of the group, hoping he hadn't made too much of a fool of himself. Kray seemed to be half laughing too, but in more of a "I can't believe how much of a moron you are" way, Briney seemed transfixed on a shiny red orb clasped in the dead seaman's bony hand, and Hyrem and Delilah seemed to be looking at something else altogether. Following their gaze, Andy nearly let out another scream, his nerves still a little shot. In the far corner of the room, something writhed and wriggled in the shadows, as Delilah's light passed over it, the form of the Eelektrik came into clear view, it's tail still wrapped around a rather gaunt looking Slowpoke.

"All right, Delilah, ready to synch up and battle?" Hyrem's voice over the comm again, his Pokemon calling out in response.

"We've got to get Slowpoke out of here quickly," Andy said to Kray, "Ready to be a team player?" Kray snapped his pincers in preparation, willing to put up with anything in order to get into a good scrap with the Eel.

"Ok, wait for Delilah to use Flash and then use that to close in whilst it can't see. Once you're close enough, start to Chip Away at it's tail. If it tries to attack you just use Harden and keep going. We've got to concentrate on getting it to let go of Slowpoke."

Arc_Angel: Stricken with fear at the sight of the oversized eel, you choose to try a more diplomatic approach in hopes that maybe it wouldn't see you as a threat, or even lunch for that matter. Engaging an electric eel in underwater combat was, after all, deadly dangerous, and trying to escape it was also an equally risky and hard endeavor, to say the least. Though you weren't sure about Oblivion's diplomatic ability, it was at least worth a try, and maybe the Tentacruel would have enough tact as to not immediately incurr the Eelektross's wrath.

Oblivion spreads his tentacles so as to appear large and threathening - a creature worthy of being listened to. With a rough growl, he explains your intentions to the creature whom you had gathered was likely the guardian of the ruins, Oblivion looking ready to step into your aid at the least sign of danger as he does so. The Eelektross seems to carefully assess the jellyfish's words, seemingly undisturbed by Oblivion's tone of voice. In return, it emits a long whistling sound, as if asking "Who asks?".

The guardian carefully looks at you as it tried to figure out if you were worthy, but then things take a sudden turn for the unexpected as you're shocked to see a harpoon suddenly dart right past you and sink into the eel's flesh; the Electric-type roaring and twisting in pain as a small trickle of blood flowed from the still half-clogged wound. As you turned to the source of the assault, you see two divers emerging from the darkness, looking well armed and equipped with specialized gear; their night vision diving masks in particular standing out the most as a single and small circular lens glowed a faint green right between where their eyes would be. In their company, a Huntail and Gorebyss both seemed ready to engage the beast while the divers took aim once again; one of them pointing a finger towards you before his partner nodded in understanding. What did they mean with that? Eelektross wasn't going to just sit there idly however, as its entire body now starts cackling with electricity, looking ready to Discharge you all. Was it grouping you with them? Who were these people anyways and should you take any part in this developing battle?

What will you do?

Stacey felt her heart beating in her chest as they stared down the enormous Elektross. Oblivion wasn't suffering this problem, he knew he could take care of them both should the thing attack ... bravado or genuine courage it was hard to tell. He understood his mistress' plan and spread his tentacles are far as he could reach taking up as much room as possible making himself look much larger. His narrow gaze met that of the electric snake and he begins to explain their presence, or at least Stacey hoped he was. He gave a few grunts and growls sending bubbles everywhere as he spoke and she waited nearly foolishly holding her breath for its reaction. A long pause of silence follows and Stacey digs her suited fingers into Oblivion's head making him grimace and tighten his hold on her. She gives him a small apologetic look before her attention is brought right back to the snake, it hisses out an answer that obviously Oblivion understood but she was oblivious ... it didn't sound too pleased but it wasn't attacking for now!

Suddenly Stacey feels a rush of water by her face as a metallic object was launched past her and she gasps nearly choking on water by doing do. It was a harpoon and it lands cleanly into Elecktross' body causing it to roar in pain. It twists round and round in agony trying to dislodge the foreign object from its body nearly hitting its cap-tees in its writhing. Oblivion turned to face the source of the attack swinging Stacey around with it and she pointing her torch at the newcomers. Two divers were treading water kitted out with advanced looking gear and technology, much better than what she had bought. She couldn't make out their faces, only the eerie green gleam from their night vision goggles as they looked to their prey. They readied another harpoon as their Pokemon swam obediently by their sides, a Gorebyss and Huntail ready to finish off Electross if ordered to do so. One of them points towards her, its partner nodding as Electross finishes gets under control enough to start powering up electricity in its body once again.

Stacey felt her blood run cold, should it attack it could kill them all, Oblivion and the other water Pokemon would probably be alright but humans were not used to receiving attacks of that magnitude! She didn't know who the divers were but she didn't agree with their brutality, if they were here to capture the Electkross then battle it, they had Pokemon available. No they were going to kill it and she wouldn't allow it. She felt safer with the giant snake than the two humans with their very sharp weapons. What if they turned on them next? They had indicated her for something and she had no plan to find out what. Oblivion was poised beneath her, he too was not impressed with killing Pokemon unless he was doing it with his own tentacles. He would kill these two and their Pokemon should his trainer order it and he knew that she was capable of such brutality herself if pushed enough.

"Bloody stupid" Stacey muttered and Oblivion growled in agreement. "If they think we're going to float here and watch this they're sorely mistaken" She whispered to Oblivion and his eyes sparkled with malice ... time to play. Stacey pushed off from his body and he released her knowing that he was to attack.

"Melt those weapons with an Acid then trap them all in a poison-filled Whirlpool, make them so dizzy they feel sick. Set up a Barrier to protect us from their attacks. Go my weapon." He didn't need to be told twice and he had already prepared his first attack as Stacey swam towards Elecktross shaking slightly her bravado ebbing away as she felt the electricity around its body. It probably wouldn't understand her but she had to try, for all their sakes. She held up her hands palms facing towards the snake in a symbol of peace, saying that she wasn't here to fight it before she tried to speak to it.

"We do not know who these strangers are but I will not allow them to attack you any more and I will help you fight them. We are here only to explore, I know you must protect something important enough for these heathens to fight you but know that we will help you guard it, even if you wish us gone afterwards." She looked up hoping that it understood the sincerity in her voice even if it was garbled by the breathing apparatus.

"I'm going to try and remove the harpoon from your body, you will feel better for it please don't electrocute us while I do," she said as she swam towards the metal object placing her hands around it preparing to pull it out should the giant Pokemon give her its consent., looking up into its eyes feeling her heart beating out a rhythmic tune of panic in her chest.

Whale Island - 16

Rainbow Reef

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman: The eerie remains of the abandoned shipwreck are quickly knocked out of focus as the menacing Eelektrik pans into view. Dangling from its sucker-like mouth was the body of a pale Slowpoke, strands of blood streaming from the base of his tail through the murky water. You decide on working together to rescue to comatose ‘Poke, making use of the Corphish’s pilfering skills whilst Chinchou posed a distraction. With a set of gargled orders the two Pokémon spring into action. Delilah is first off the bat, her glowing antennae drifting as she flounders toward the fissure. You both have to squint as she ups the amps in her lightbulbs, bathing the room in a Flash of blinding light. Trying to blink away the spots impeding your vision you catch sight of the Eelektrik who looked just as dazed. With Kray’s back turned to the radiance, he’s able to quickly dart forward, the eel tussling and squirming wildly making Slowpoke impossible to get a hold on. The crustacean attempts to Chip Away at the hostage’s tail to knock it lose, only to inadvertently hit the enemy in the cheek.

The blinded amprey retaliates by Sparking with electricity, attempting to tackle into Kray but hitting Delilah instead. The angler fish bowls backwards but her batteries seem to have benefited from the recharge – Slowpoke the only one taking the hit as sparks jolt down his lifeless body. With the foe still too energetic she sends off an echo of Supersonic waves which reverberate across the room, the high frequencies making your walkie talkies go haywire. You clap your ears whilst Eelektrik and Kray’s eye’s glaze over in confusion. The electric eel slaps itself with its tail in its stupor, meanwhile Kray manages to come to his senses quick enough to lunge upward and Chip the Slowpoke Away from the predator. You look on horror-struck as the shroud of bubbles disperses to reveal the pasty slowpoke, its tail completely severed... Trying to keep down your lunch you focus back on the battle at hand, Delilah letting off a Thunder Wave which coils around the eel locking up its muscles. Fuelled with rage the lamprey spits off a vat of Acid - missing the Chinchou by inches, courtesy of its blurred vision, and melting a hole in the wooden floorboards. You’d gotten off to an impressive start with luck on your side, but considering neither of you had landed a solid hit you could still be headed to Davey Jones’ locker. What will you do?

Kakatua Lagoon

Balmund: Your eyes fix onto the last cloche with a mangled look of horror and disbelief. You stare for what feels like hours into the glassy eyes of the catfish, a wrought-iron stick skewering it through its middle with each thick segment topped in sliced pineapple. There was no explaining it. Somehow you just knew it was Moku, the happy-go-lucky hippie you’d met just a day a go in the lake hundreds of meters above. They shared the same sweet, intoxicated expression, the Whiscash’s whiskers a spitting image of the traveller’s Fu Manchu moustache. Grief strikes you like a wave against a rocky cliff, your thoughts drifting to Chong, Lily, Orcharist and Sothe who you’d hoped were out of harms way on the lagoon’s bank. The warning etched below your empty dinner plate was rattling through your brain – there were no lengths this girl wouldn’t go to and you no longer had any reason to trust her. You were going to beat her at her own game...

With all your guts you manage to repress your feelings and send daggers toward the mermaid. She could have very easily been imagining this however, as soon as she gazes back at you your face had shifted to one of twisted pleasure. You then prize a joint of Whiscash spéciale and take a hearty mouthful. The roasted skin crunched on your bite, a burst of fatty juices filling your mouth and tantalising your taste buds. Melćna lets out the quietest sigh of relief she could muster, barely audible over the chewing of delicious catfish meat. With a satisfied swallow, you make sure to keep the siren on her tail – cutting straight to the chase with a question that had been burning in your throat ever since read the words ‘SHE LIES’.

This sucked all the atmosphere out of the room. The mermaid looks stricken with surprise, her spoon slipping from her hand and clanging on the side of her bowl of boiled Shellder. The waiters tumble over each other comically, the Qwilfish puffing to twice its size and jabbering something in rapid French as all three of them frantically skirted out of the room – probably wanting to get in a safe distance before the siren erupted. But that didn’t happen at all. Her eyes started to well up as the long silence hit breaking point. She looked absolutely terrified, her darkish pupils darting around the dining room as though she was being watched. It looked as though she was trying to communicate something to you through a single look. Her acting skills had trumped yours tenfold, as you couldn’t help feel a momentary lapse of concern. Then you spot a glimpse of scarlet light flicker in her pupils and her petrified demeanour switches to one of uneasiness.

“I’ve always been scared of men... ever since that old guy attacked me up at the lake”, she explains almost too innocently, before sending you the lovesick stare that had worked every time up until now, “But that was until I met you, baby... how about we go back to the royal bedroom for... dessert”. There was no need for her to raise a seductive brow - it was obvious what she wasn't talking about food. But what were her intentions this time?

Hydro-Electric Dam

Myahoo: You gaze down the smoky battlefield, fiery cinders and sparks of electricity lighting it up with each impressive collision. With the haze starting to falter you notice Wildfire’s hair frazzled and on end from the static whilst Blitzle’s stripes were blemished with red blisters. Neither looked to last another round and with one more spurt of confidence cough up a wheezy set of orders, courtesy of the scattering smog, and brandish a Pokéball ready to take aim. The echidna nods as bounds into the smokescreen, his beady eyes fixed on the zebra with a nerve-racking Leer. With the Blitzle’s vision fogged up it doesn’t catch sight of the intimidation tactics and instead canters into a Wild Charge. Ducking its head the foal rams into the rodent’s shoulder, not managing to hit head-on but still leaving a harsh blow. Rolling sideways Wildfire tries to find his opponent again, his eyes far better trained for the smoke as he fires off a burst of Embers at Blitzle’s hooves. The zebra whines in pain, trotting waywardly to put out the flames around its feet. It then lets out a kick of frustration Stomping on Cyndaquil who tumbles back with a large hoof-shaped shiner on his left eye. Hanging on by the skin of his teeth, the echidna musters up another Extrasensory whilst you ready for the catch. The gold beam catches the zebra on the flank, causing one of its legs to buckle. Teetering on a knockout, sparks start flying up its body but before it could lynch off another attack you aim with one eye open and lob the red-white sphere into the smoke. You catch sound of it hitting the target and ricocheting onto the gravelly terra. Straining your ears, the familiar Ping! sends your spirits sky high. Congratulations! Level Six Blitzle ♀ was caught! Just as you’d salvaged your newest capture from the charred banks Volkner’s voice brings you back to reality.

“Not bad, kid. Not that I could see much of it. Luxray caught the whole thing with his X-Ray vision”, the blond man smiles, leant coolly against the jungle cat who looked poised for action. “Now she’ll need to be in top shape if you’re gonna ride her. Pass me the Pokéball”. You oblige, Volkner catching the ball in one swipe and sending the Blitzle back out. The foal looks about ready to topple over, still beat up from the skirmish. Volkner strokes its nuzzle, bonding with it instantly as he brandishes a Potion from one of his jean pockets. He whispers reassuringly in the zebra’s ear “this may sting a little” as he pulls on the trigger, spraying vapour on the Pokémon’s blisters. The Blitzle neighs feebly but the medicine quickly works its magic as her wounds miraculously fade away. She’d be in top riding shape, and you can’t help but think you’ll need it as the trickling stream dries out. Volkner sends you a serious nod before jumping back onto the Luxray and taking off for the dam. Your new Blitzle eyes you obediently, what will you do?

Myahoo, with your first capture you’ve unlocked rights to the Egg House. Be sure to link to your response to this update when picking up your egg.

Crater Lake

Itzatrap: Beads of sweat trickled from your scalp down your forehead, the sun’s hot rays and the intense manual labour sending the temperature up a few notches. And just ahead the battle was reaching boiling point as spurts of flames erupted on each collision. Any attempts to settle down and tame the juvenile Blitzle weren’t working, you still had a long way to go in breaking Bolt. The electrified Pokémon scuffs his hoof against the charred pasture again whilst Olli decides to goad it even further. Taunting like only a monkey could, he rolls on the spot and flashes his butt cheeks, turning his head to blow a raspberry. The foal neighs frenziedly, cantering forward as sparks Charge up and down its muscular legs. Olli has no time to dodge as he’s steamrolled by the attack, electric hooves trampling him like live defibrillators - electricity dancing Wildly through his body. Scrambling to his feet the chimp looks pretty beat up, but with a thump of his chest he lets loose a Spinning pillar of flames. The Fire quickly picks up around Bolt who lifts his forelegs in bewilderment until he’s completely engulfed. This also severs the lasso keeping the zebra from escaping, Chimchar casting aside the charred fibres. You hear a yelp as the zebra skirts backwards only to be burnt on his flank, the smouldering tornado amplified by Olli’s attack boost. With his foe at bay the chimp starts to think of more Nasty Plots. You hope one of them involves what comes next, as Bolt combusts and Charges through the twister – his own Flames protecting him from the inferno. Running over Olli yet again, he then veers toward the gates using Agility to increase his momentum. With no lasso to tug onto, you’d need to intercept him before he got away! What will you do?

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman: The eerie remains of the abandoned shipwreck are quickly knocked out of focus as the menacing Eelektrik pans into view. Dangling from its sucker-like mouth was the body of a pale Slowpoke, strands of blood streaming from the base of his tail through the murky water. You decide on working together to rescue to comatose ‘Poke, making use of the Corphish’s pilfering skills whilst Chinchou posed a distraction. With a set of gargled orders the two Pokémon spring into action. Delilah is first off the bat, her glowing antennae drifting as she flounders toward the fissure. You both have to squint as she ups the amps in her lightbulbs, bathing the room in a Flash of blinding light. Trying to blink away the spots impeding your vision you catch sight of the Eelektrik who looked just as dazed. With Kray’s back turned to the radiance, he’s able to quickly dart forward, the eel tussling and squirming wildly making Slowpoke impossible to get a hold on. The crustacean attempts to Chip Away at the hostage’s tail to knock it lose, only to inadvertently hit the enemy in the cheek.

The blinded amprey retaliates by Sparking with electricity, attempting to tackle into Kray but hitting Delilah instead. The angler fish bowls backwards but her batteries seem to have benefited from the recharge – Slowpoke the only one taking the hit as sparks jolt down his lifeless body. With the foe still too energetic she sends off an echo of Supersonic waves which reverberate across the room, the high frequencies making your walkie talkies go haywire. You clap your ears whilst Eelektrik and Kray’s eye’s glaze over in confusion. The electric eel slaps itself with its tail in its stupor, meanwhile Kray manages to come to his senses quick enough to lunge upward and Chip the Slowpoke Away from the predator. You look on horror-struck as the shroud of bubbles disperses to reveal the pasty slowpoke, its tail completely severed... Trying to keep down your lunch you focus back on the battle at hand, Delilah letting off a Thunder Wave which coils around the eel locking up its muscles. Fuelled with rage the lamprey spits off a vat of Acid - missing the Chinchou by inches, courtesy of its blurred vision, and melting a hole in the wooden floorboards. You’d gotten off to an impressive start with luck on your side, but considering neither of you had landed a solid hit you could still be headed to Davey Jones’ locker. What will you do?

Having incapacitated Briney's Slowpoke, Eelektrik had set its sights on the rest of the group, but they had other plans! Delilah was ready to rescue the helpless Water Pokemon and started by enveloping the entire room in a series of Flashes of light, almost blinding those who didn't look away, especially Eelektrik. Stunned by the Flash attack, Eelektrik was now vulnerable to Kray's attack. Kray couldn't get a good hold on Slowpoke, the way the EleFish was thrashing around, but he did Chip Away at Eelektrik's health.

This Sparked Eelektrik's interest in battling the two fish for sure. It crackled with electricity and charged straight for what it thought was Kray, but... when you take a Flash to the eyes like that, you tend to see things... differently. Delilah didn't exactly like being rammed into like that, but she did like Absorbing all that Voltage being given off. Hyrem knew that ability of hers would come in handy! Slowpoke, on the other hand... well, nobody could tell what he felt, but having more electricity coursing through his body while already in a coma... that couldn't be good. Delilah needed to continue messing with the eel's senses, so she sent off Supersonic vibrations that sounded even louder through Hyrem's walkie-talkie. "Ow, ow, ow, bad idea, bad idea!" he cried as he covered his ears. Still, the purpose of the attack was achieved, and Eelektrik's senses were completely confused, as evidenced by it slapping itself with its tail. Fortunately, no one else was confused, including Kray; this time, he successfully manages to Chip Slowpoke Away from Eelektrik's mouth. They managed to achieve their goal, but the sight of a pale Slowpoke with its tail gone didn't exactly make the effort worth it.

And they still had a hungry, ticked off Eelektrik to deal with. The little Chinchou remembered that, and so continued the onslaught with a Thunder Wave, which successfully paralyzed Eelektrik. Now it was really ticked off; first they made it let go of its lunch, and now they paralyze it? That Chinchou would pay! In an attempt to start the digestive process on Delilah, it tried to spit out some stomach Acid at her, but it narrowly missed. Everything had gone their way so far, even though Eelektrik had almost all of its health, it's just that they hadn't made an effort to hit hard... yet.

"All right, we got Slowpoke free! Now it's time for some damage! Delilah, let's go for a Shock Wave, then two waves of Bubbles!" The Chinchou didn't have a lot of powerful attacks yet, but maybe Andy and Kray had some attacks that hit harder...

Myahoo: You gaze down the smoky battlefield, fiery cinders and sparks of electricity lighting it up with each impressive collision. With the haze starting to falter you notice Wildfire’s hair frazzled and on end from the static whilst Blitzle’s stripes were blemished with red blisters. Neither looked to last another round and with one more spurt of confidence cough up a wheezy set of orders, courtesy of the scattering smog, and brandish a Pokéball ready to take aim. The echidna nods as bounds into the smokescreen, his beady eyes fixed on the zebra with a nerve-racking Leer. With the Blitzle’s vision fogged up it doesn’t catch sight of the intimidation tactics and instead canters into a Wild Charge. Ducking its head the foal rams into the rodent’s shoulder, not managing to hit head-on but still leaving a harsh blow. Rolling sideways Wildfire tries to find his opponent again, his eyes far better trained for the smoke as he fires off a burst of Embers at Blitzle’s hooves. The zebra whines in pain, trotting waywardly to put out the flames around its feet. It then lets out a kick of frustration Stomping on Cyndaquil who tumbles back with a large hoof-shaped shiner on his left eye. Hanging on by the skin of his teeth, the echidna musters up another Extrasensory whilst you ready for the catch. The gold beam catches the zebra on the flank, causing one of its legs to buckle. Teetering on a knockout, sparks start flying up its body but before it could lynch off another attack you aim with one eye open and lob the red-white sphere into the smoke. You catch sound of it hitting the target and ricocheting onto the gravelly terra. Straining your ears, the familiar Ping! sends your spirits sky high. Congratulations! Level Six Blitzle ♀ was caught! Just as you’d salvaged your newest capture from the charred banks Volkner’s voice brings you back to reality.

“Not bad, kid. Not that I could see much of it. Luxray caught the whole thing with his X-Ray vision”, the blond man smiles, leant coolly against the jungle cat who looked poised for action. “Now she’ll need to be in top shape if you’re gonna ride her. Pass me the Pokéball”. You oblige, Volkner catching the ball in one swipe and sending the Blitzle back out. The foal looks about ready to topple over, still beat up from the skirmish. Volkner strokes its nuzzle, bonding with it instantly as he brandishes a Potion from one of his jean pockets. He whispers reassuringly in the zebra’s ear “this may sting a little” as he pulls on the trigger, spraying vapour on the Pokémon’s blisters. The Blitzle neighs feebly but the medicine quickly works its magic as her wounds miraculously fade away. She’d be in top riding shape, and you can’t help but think you’ll need it as the trickling stream dries out. Volkner sends you a serious nod before jumping back onto the Luxray and taking off for the dam. Your new Blitzle eyes you obediently, what will you do?

Myahoo, with your first capture you’ve unlocked rights to the Egg House. Be sure to link to your response to this update when picking up your egg.

Melissa coughed as the Smokescreen started drifting towards her. Maybe having so many of those wasn't the best idea, she thought wryly as the smoke caused her eyes to water. Squinting at Wildfire through the smoke, she could see his fur sticking up from all the Electric attacks and she hoped the Blitzle wouldn't get too many more hits in; the fire echidna was her strongest Pokemon at the moment, not to mention her closest friend. She winced when she caught the telltale sparks of another Electric attack and clenched her fist triumphantly when she heard a responding whinny. The teen kept an eye on the shifting smoke and barely caught the golden beam signalling Wildfire's Extrasensory. Upon seeing one of the foal's legs buckling, she aimed with a single eye, her other having closed in response to all the smoke, and tossed the Pokeball at the sparking Blitzle, the sparks indicating where the Pokemon had fallen. She held her breath when she heard the dual-colored ball hit something solid, before making a sound as it hit the ground. It almost felt like everything had frozen as Melissa strained her ears for that Ping! and, when she heard it, everything suddenly began again.

Letting her breath out in a rush, she hurried into the smoke, spirits light as air, as she picked up her brand-new Blitzle on her way to her Cyndaquil. It was only when Volkner's voice came from behind her that she remembered why she'd battled the Blitzle in the first place. Gently, but quickly, picking up her weary starter, she grinned at Volkner, still high on the rush of having caught her first Pokemon, tossing the Pokeball to the Gym Leader when he asked for it. She turned to Wildfire and said softly, "Great job, buddy! We did it, we caught our first wild Pokemon." He nodded wearily, not feeling up to anything more strenous; that had been much harder than he thought it would be. Together, the pair watched as Volkner released their new teammate, Melissa wincing when she realized the extent of the damage and Wildfire feeling satisfied that he'd been able to deal out that much damage. The teen's thoughts and gaze drifted back upriver as Volkner used a Potion on her Blitzle, returning to the situation at hand; she wondered what they would find when they reached the dam. She then thanked him for healing the Pokemon, thinking privately to herself that they'd need to be in top shape to take on whatever had made the dam stop.

Finished healing the foal, Volkner gave Melissa a serious nod, before leaping onto his Luxray and heading towards the dam. The teen looked at her new Blitzle, shifting Wildfire to her left hand and reaching her right hand out to the Electrified Pokemon. With a nicker, the Blitzle touched Melissa's hand with her nose and the trainer grinned. "I've got a name for you, girl. How does Storm sound?" she murmured, as she got closer, preparing to mount the foal. The newly-dubbed Storm nodded and nudged the girl, indicating her trainer should get on quickly. Another grin crossed Melissa's face as she clambered up onto Storm's back, the trainer still giddy over her first capture, trying to settle herself into a comfortable position; this was the first time she'd ever ridden any equine and she hoped she didn't screw it up too badly. "Alright, Storm, let's go," she told her, when she found what she hoped was a good position, Wildfire clutching tightly to Melissa's shirt. With a whinny, Storm took off after Volkner's Luxray, bringing them closer to finding out what was wrong with the dam.

MarbleZone: Things were starting to look very dire, and you knew you had to do something before it got even worse, even if it meant a bit of collateral damage. You try to ease Andrew up, letting him know that everything was under control, and that he should focus on the important task of staying alive and unharmed. Besides, somebody would cover for the necessary repairs, and hopefully, it wouldn't have to be you.

Facing against two Grimer, you choose to go full offensive, focusing all of your attacks on the weakened one in hopes of taking it down as soon as possible. Both of your Pokémon are quick to follow orders, Crix, going in first as both of his forearms are covered in flames, chopping accross the Grimer with a Cross motion traced with fire. Before the Grimer could even react, Gaius jumps in, thrashing about violently in mighty Outrage. The Grimer had clearly taken a beating, but somehow, it still held on to consciousness! Woe to you, it breathes even more Poison Gas over your Pokémon, both of them coughing heavily as a result before Crix pulls off an encore of his previous attack to finally shut the Grimer down for good. By the looks of it however, it seemed your Pokémon were now unfortunately Poisoned, and the gas would only worsen the situation by forcing them to expend extra energy on their attacks. You yourself were already feeling slightly faint and sick as the stench filled your nostrils. You felt like throwing up your breakfast, and Andrew makes no effort to retain his own as he starts barfing it all up. Nasty! To top things off, the other Grimer looks really pissed after witnessing his partner being so roughly mistreated, and dives towards your Pokémon in anger, arms flailing as he Pounds the both of your Pokémon. Gaius unleashes his might yet again with another burst of Outrage in retaliation, pounding the Grimer over and over again with a combo of bites, slashes and dragon flares, only to be stopped short by a single, but well-placed Pound to the face. Gaius tries to regain his bearings, but it seems that after all that thrashing, plus the slight concussion to his head, that may just take a while; by his looks you could tell he was very much Confused! The Grimer may be slow, but they were bulky, and it was almost like they had bricks for fists. If what Andrew said was correct, there was probably still yet another Grimer inside, but given the current circumstances, it was probably best to take things outside. The ventilation system seemed to be damaged, and with the poison gas floating around, time was ticking even more against you.

"D-dude!" Andrew exclaimed while still trying to control his excessive coughing, gagging a bit spastically in between coughs. "Don't you guys work in groups or something? You have to call for back-up man! This is too much!" Call for back up... as if. A little bit of extra pressure always brings the best in someone though, right?

What will you do?

Levin started coughing spastically, the gas clearly getting to him as well as poor Andrew. To make matters worse, both Crix and Gaius were now Poisoned, with the latter being Confused on top of it. Could the deck be stacked against him any further? On the upside, they had managed to topple one of the Grimer, so now only one remained… at least there were no signs of the supposed third Grimer yet, so that gave him some time.

Thinking clearly was getting harder with the noxious atmosphere, but two things were evident: Crix and Gaius had to leave the battle, and taking things outside could well cause general panic – there was a very obvious reason why people didn’t go about having Pokémon battles in the middle of crowded streets. They had to keep this confrontation somewhat unnoticed, both for the safety of any bystanders and for the sake of his own reputation.

- Andrew, open the door now! We have to clear off the air, at least renew somewhat! Then get out, I don’t want to risk your health any longer, I’ll handle things from here!

Keeping the door open would at least let some of the toxic air wash out, but they still had to stop Grimer from pouring out more of that Gas. Fortunately the opponent had already received a dead-on Outrage so he wasn’t fresh either… He had an idea. The only way to counter poison was to use Pokémon that were unaffected by it.

- Gaius, Crix, great job! Return to your Pokéballs, I’ll fix you up as soon as this is over! And out you go, Opal and Zion!

After recalling his Gible and Elekid, two new Pokémon emerged in front of Levin – a shy-looking Venonat and a quiet Beldum.

- Time to get moving! Opal, Disable Grimer’s Poison Gas! Follow it up with two Hidden Power Ground! Zion, you keep up the pressure with three Take Downs in succession if need be, make sure it goes down!

His head felt dizzy and his stomach wouldn’t stand still for some reason. Hopefully they could stop more toxins from coming out, and the fresh air from the open door would ease the atmosphere enough for him not to pass out; at least neither his Beldum nor his Venonat would be affected by the gas, which still gave them a fighting chance. He hoped.

Kaisap: Mulling over your options, you finally cave and let Kitty fight the grouchy owl. The kittens pink fur was on end as she raised her rump into a pouncing motion – licking her lips as her paw-like tail swayed in the breeze. The Hoothoot was clipped its beak again as it swooped forward for a Peck. Claws suddenly bare, the feline suddenly Faked left before taking the bird Out from the right with a swipe! Knocking the owl off its perch it hooted wildly before landing on a lower branch. Its bloodshot eyes dawned on Kitty, flickering a shade of blue as pulsed off another Confusion. The psychic salvo knocks the Skitty off balance, nearly falling off the branch before catching herself with her tail. You brace yourself to try and catch the cat, but she’s quick to hoist herself up and leap toward the Hoothoot. Lowering her head Kitty Tackles into the owl sending brown feathers everywhere as the two struggle the break apart. The owl concedes, jumping off the branch and flapping its stubby wings to stay airborne. Still in mid-air, the Hoothoot lets loose another screech, Kitty sticking her paws in her ears in a feeble attempt to block out the painful Uproar. What will you do?

OOC: Sorry for the lateness, I had a terrible writer's block!

Kitty was more than happy to take on the annoying Hoothoot. While the little owl attempted to Peck Kitty, she skillfully dodged a bit to the left, only to return with a Fake Out from the right! Noriko looked on with pride: her partner had grown so much already. Hoothoot managed to land on a lower branch, sending off a blue pulse of Confusion at Kitty. This caused Kitty to stumble slightly, but she managed to keep herself from falling with her tail, as much as Noriko was ready to catch her. Shrugging the near-falling off, Kitty launched at Hoothoot, smacking right into it with Tackle, sending brown feathers flying everywhere.

Hoothoot gave up under pressure, flying off the branch it was on while leaving Kitty room to land. Instead, Hoothoot started to cause an Uproar in mid-air, causing Kitty to try and desperately plug her ears. Noriko was already holding her hands on her ears, the vocal attack getting painful to hear. The trainer had to come up with something, quick!

“Kitty, hang on! Use Incinerate and then Attract!” Getting the Hoothoot to be quiet was a top priority, no doubt about that!

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman: The eerie remains of the abandoned shipwreck are quickly knocked out of focus as the menacing Eelektrik pans into view. Dangling from its sucker-like mouth was the body of a pale Slowpoke, strands of blood streaming from the base of his tail through the murky water. You decide on working together to rescue to comatose ‘Poke, making use of the Corphish’s pilfering skills whilst Chinchou posed a distraction. With a set of gargled orders the two Pokémon spring into action. Delilah is first off the bat, her glowing antennae drifting as she flounders toward the fissure. You both have to squint as she ups the amps in her lightbulbs, bathing the room in a Flash of blinding light. Trying to blink away the spots impeding your vision you catch sight of the Eelektrik who looked just as dazed. With Kray’s back turned to the radiance, he’s able to quickly dart forward, the eel tussling and squirming wildly making Slowpoke impossible to get a hold on. The crustacean attempts to Chip Away at the hostage’s tail to knock it lose, only to inadvertently hit the enemy in the cheek.

The blinded amprey retaliates by Sparking with electricity, attempting to tackle into Kray but hitting Delilah instead. The angler fish bowls backwards but her batteries seem to have benefited from the recharge – Slowpoke the only one taking the hit as sparks jolt down his lifeless body. With the foe still too energetic she sends off an echo of Supersonic waves which reverberate across the room, the high frequencies making your walkie talkies go haywire. You clap your ears whilst Eelektrik and Kray’s eye’s glaze over in confusion. The electric eel slaps itself with its tail in its stupor, meanwhile Kray manages to come to his senses quick enough to lunge upward and Chip the Slowpoke Away from the predator. You look on horror-struck as the shroud of bubbles disperses to reveal the pasty slowpoke, its tail completely severed... Trying to keep down your lunch you focus back on the battle at hand, Delilah letting off a Thunder Wave which coils around the eel locking up its muscles. Fuelled with rage the lamprey spits off a vat of Acid - missing the Chinchou by inches, courtesy of its blurred vision, and melting a hole in the wooden floorboards. You’d gotten off to an impressive start with luck on your side, but considering neither of you had landed a solid hit you could still be headed to Davey Jones’ locker. What will you do?

Originally Posted by Dark Searchman

Having incapacitated Briney's Slowpoke, Eelektrik had set its sights on the rest of the group, but they had other plans! Delilah was ready to rescue the helpless Water Pokemon and started by enveloping the entire room in a series of Flashes of light, almost blinding those who didn't look away, especially Eelektrik. Stunned by the Flash attack, Eelektrik was now vulnerable to Kray's attack. Kray couldn't get a good hold on Slowpoke, the way the EleFish was thrashing around, but he did Chip Away at Eelektrik's health.

This Sparked Eelektrik's interest in battling the two fish for sure. It crackled with electricity and charged straight for what it thought was Kray, but... when you take a Flash to the eyes like that, you tend to see things... differently. Delilah didn't exactly like being rammed into like that, but she did like Absorbing all that Voltage being given off. Hyrem knew that ability of hers would come in handy! Slowpoke, on the other hand... well, nobody could tell what he felt, but having more electricity coursing through his body while already in a coma... that couldn't be good. Delilah needed to continue messing with the eel's senses, so she sent off Supersonic vibrations that sounded even louder through Hyrem's walkie-talkie. "Ow, ow, ow, bad idea, bad idea!" he cried as he covered his ears. Still, the purpose of the attack was achieved, and Eelektrik's senses were completely confused, as evidenced by it slapping itself with its tail. Fortunately, no one else was confused, including Kray; this time, he successfully manages to Chip Slowpoke Away from Eelektrik's mouth. They managed to achieve their goal, but the sight of a pale Slowpoke with its tail gone didn't exactly make the effort worth it.

And they still had a hungry, ticked off Eelektrik to deal with. The little Chinchou remembered that, and so continued the onslaught with a Thunder Wave, which successfully paralyzed Eelektrik. Now it was really ticked off; first they made it let go of its lunch, and now they paralyze it? That Chinchou would pay! In an attempt to start the digestive process on Delilah, it tried to spit out some stomach Acid at her, but it narrowly missed. Everything had gone their way so far, even though Eelektrik had almost all of its health, it's just that they hadn't made an effort to hit hard... yet.

"All right, we got Slowpoke free! Now it's time for some damage! Delilah, let's go for a Shock Wave, then two waves of Bubbles!" The Chinchou didn't have a lot of powerful attacks yet, but maybe Andy and Kray had some attacks that hit harder...

The battle to rescue Slowpoke was now underway, and Andy was honestly having trouble making out was was going on, between all the bright flashes from Delilah and sparks of electricity from the Eelektrik, his ability to follow the battle hampered momentarily even more by the supersonic screech coming from over the walkie talkies.

"Ow, ow, ow, bad idea, bad idea!" He thought he heard Hyrem's voice crackle through the din. Andy wasn't sure whether it was still the feedback or if his ears were now just ringing.

Andy agreed with that sentiment, "Maybe we should turn these off the next time you want to try that mov... Oh god..."

One thing that the group did seem to notice was Briney's Slowpoke who, for lack of a better word, was looking worse for wear. Andy balked slightly, the sight of the Slowpoke having a worse effect on him than when he saw Hyrem with that Basculin clamped to him. Andy tried his hardest to regain his focus, and his stomach. Their foe was now angry, and they were getting exhausted from all the swimming, they'd really have to up their game now if they wanted Slowpoke, or indeed any of them, to make it out of here alive.

"Ok, I wasn't sure if these moves would work because of where we are and what we're fighting but it looks like we can't be holding back now." Andy explained, "That Thunder Wave Delilah let off seemed to have some kind of effect, so here goes nothing." Andy's attention snapped back to the ensuing battle. "Ok, Kray, time yourself and try to make these moves connect the same time as Delilah's. When she uses Shock Wave, back it up with a Thunder Punch, then help push those Bubble volleys along with a Surf."

Andy could only hope that a combined attack would be able to do some kind of damage to was obviously a very strong opponent. If it didn't, who knew what would happen...

Whale Island - 17

Rainbow Reef

Dark Searchman and Trainer Andy: Whilst the rescue of Briney’s Slowpoke in almost one piece had gone off without a sitch, there was still a long way to go as the hungry Amprey coiled hungrily between yourselves and escape. Sparks jumped up and down its slinky body in Delilah’s torchlight, strands of blood still drifting from its sucker mouth in the gentle currents of the sunken ship. Hearts pounding with fear, you team up for another round as the crustacean and the angler fish spring into action. Delilah flounders in an arc toward the foe, her bulbs crackling as she lets loose a Shockwave of electricity. The current bursts from her position, hitting the eel as well as Kray who’d gone in for a Thunder Punch. Socking the foe in the fin with one of his crabhammers, he’s suddenly knocked sideways caught in the angler fish’s line of fire. The hardy Corphish flails his pincer angrily in the Chinchou’s direction, cursing something like ‘Watch where you’re firing!’ This unfortunately leaves him sitting duck for Eelektrik’s revenge as his markings flicker on and he shoots forward like a torpedo. The eel’s combusts into a Charge of Wild electricity as he rams into the lobster with a powerful tackle. Corphish grits his teeth as he’s sent crashing into the greenish floorboards which splinter on impact, emerging with sparks still flying up his shell armour.

Rounding back on Kray, the predator is caught completely off guard as Delilah spits off a jet of Bubbles. The foamy blast peppers against its dorsal fin for a modest hit, managing to grab his attention more than anything. Eelektrik switches targets immediately, veering up toward Delilah and latching onto her with a Crunch. The angler fish wails in pain as the lamprey sinks its teeth into her scales, sporting a ring of gory bite marks on her torso as they break apart. Corphish swims back up to his battle partner’s side, the duo tailing off the round with a Bubble-Surf combo. As Chinchou gargles up another jet of foam, the Corphish flails its arms to create a wave that pulls the bubbles into its current. The torrent arcs down the deck and breaks on reaching its target. An explosion of foam engulfs the murky waters, momentarily obscuring the lamprey from view. The Eelektrik suddenly springs out of its cover and lunges for Delilah, Coiling its body around the Chinchou and locking it in a tight constrict. What will you do?

Hydro-Electric Dam

Myahoo: With the river bone dry and a new method of quick transport you set your sights on the Hydro-Electric Dam. Thoughts of evil organisations, terrorists and destructive Pokémon race through your head as you wonder what could grind the colossal generator to a halt like that. These thoughts cause a lump in the pit of your stomach as you approach your steed, but Volkner couldn’t be more excited. He taps his shoe impatiently against Luxray’s flank, occasionally glancing toward you and back up at the destination. Storm neighs tamely as you go to saddle up, pressing her muzzle against your open palm. Putting one hand on her neck for support, the zebra braces as you climb on. A sudden tingling sensation travels up your spine easing your nerves, your hair gaining some extra bounce courtesy of Storm’s static. Comfortably mounted you gaze toward Volkner who had already set off in overwhelming excitement, and on your signal the zebra was galloping in tow. The sudden jerk in speed almost sends you off balance, coaxing you to lock your legs in tight as you grabbed ahold of the lightning bolt mane.

Breaking through the threshold of billowing smoke you quickly close distance with the bounding jungle cat, gaining momentum from its slipstream. Fear of falling quickly subsides as the thrill of riding took steed. Wind swept through your hair, the trees to your right flashing by like green blurs, the concrete structure panning closer into view until it was all you could see. Now a stone’s throw away from the dam Volkner brakes, slackening his grip on Luxray’s mane and holding a hand up to grab your attention. Storm canters to a halt as the gym leader examines the colossal structure, one hand covering his brow to block out the sun. Minutes roll by as he stares at the eyesore. You could swear he was X-Raying it, picking apart its cogs and wheels looking for a chink in its inner mechanics...

“That’s what’s causing it!” Volkner yells, signalling toward a large turbine on the heart of the dam “The cylinder’s been clogged. I bet it was sabotage!” You can’t help but spot an air of excitement in the gym leader’s voice, as though the higher the stakes were there more fun your mission would be. Despite the growing lump in your throat, you set off with Volkner as he races further up the dried bank like a restless child. The winding trail was getting considerably steeper as you ambled on, a gravelly incline leading toward the top of the dam and no doubt - an overflowing reservoir swarming with danger. Storm neighs gruffly as she scales the path with growing difficulty, losing Luxray who’d already vaulted to its peak. The zebra hurdled up over rocks with each rough landing giving you nasty saddle sores. You almost consider an early dismount until a blond head of hair comes into view over the next stretch of boulder. As you approached there was no hiding the sallow look of disappointment in face. It was hard to tell why, the embankment was broad and long, spanning a great deal further than the eye could see. What was more fascinating was the Bidoof and Bibarel colony building their own dam across the reservoir. Packs of small Bidoof would break out of the forests carrying twigs and branches in their mouths, the Bibarel fusing the sticks into the muddy blockade with a slap of their flat tails. Each slap seemed to echo like a smack in the face for Volkner, who’d been expecting chaos as he bolted toward the dam - a real challenge. He eyed the lumber dam scathingly.

“That’s what’s clogging the turbine?” Volkner said to himself in frustration, “Mud and branches?!” He starts pacing in a mixture of disbelief and anger. He’d obviously had his guns set on a more dangerous scenario. You go to speak but he quickly rounds on you, the words caught at the bottom of your throat. “YOU deal with it! Even a preschooler and his Magikarp could unblock that hole!” his voice cracks as he waves a careless hand toward you, wanting nothing to do with such a trivial crisis. You switch your gaze toward the crystal clear water, eventually spotting the turbine which must have fed the water into the rivers downstream. It was, as the gym leader described, clogged with mud and branches that had drifted off from the beaver dam. You notice the propeller blades shunt feebly at the thicket of timber. Until it had been salvaged or destroyed, the valley would dry up. The job wasn’t mangled with danger but you couldn’t help feel Volkner had taken it lightly. It wouldn’t be easy for a Pokémon to get down there and the Sunyshore leader had made it clear he wasn’t going to lend a hand. What will you do?

Cascade Waterfall

Kaisap:Ditto on the Writer’s Block front :/ I usually just power through what I’ve got to write though, even if it does look really poor when I read it back.

You clap your ears as the owl’s screeching reverberates through the canopy of leaves, Skitty’s hairs standing on end as she attempts to block out the racket. Much to your chagrin it doesn’t look to go on its own, the Hoothoot’s Uproar keeping up whilst the bird was on a roll. You clasp your hands around your mouth this time, yelling up another set of orders which you could only hope hadn’t been drowned out. Kitty, who’d buried her head in her paws in efforts to siphon out all noise quickly springs into action on hearing your voice – her eyes smouldering with loathing as she glared at the fluttering foe. Drawing in breath the kitten suddenly expels a flurry of embers which Incinerate the Hoothoot and the surrounding branches to boot. Luckily it’d rained a few hours ago stopping the canopy from catching fire, but the owl looked truly scorched as her uproar died off into a splutter courtesy of the billowing smoke – leaving behind a ringing in your ears. With its feathers still smouldering the owl roosts on the nearest branch it can find, throwing off another Confusion knocking Kitty back as she wields her tail into counterbalance. Not landing status Kitty rounds off the skirmish with an Attract, wagging her tail seductively and sending a playful wink toward the bird. Your gamble seems to pay off as the male barn owl is overcome with infatuation. The little bird flails suspended in mid air, staring lovesick at the cat who licked her lips ready to make the next move. With the Hoothoot left a sitting duck victory was almost in reach, what will you do?

uhhhhh: You fear the worst regarding Angie's fate, though you didn't dare speak it out loud, and more so as you find out who this man was actually targetting was none other than you! Why? What had you done? And what did he want to do with your camera? Whatever it was, this was simply too precious an item to let go, and you would defend it at costs. You recall Humphrey back to his Pokéball before busting out another one of your partners, Marco, the shiny Remoraid. Though he was literally like a fish out of water in this environment, you had planned to do something about that, and you hold him out like one would with a gun. Pointing out towards the Murkrow, Marco fires a chilling Ice Beam in its direction... and misses! The crow Pokémon maneouvering past the beam, it dives its beak straight into your torso and forcing you to drop your weapon from the sudden accute pain. Gaspard eeeks in shock and tries to run to your rescue, but he has his hands and tail are full as he tries to defend himself against the Weavile; swinging another Fire Punch only to have it blocked by a Reflective barrier, and in turn recieving a Poisonous Jab to the face. Lola on her end found herself losing focus as Kim did, and the sight of Angie unconscious didn't help at all either. She couldn't do a thing as the other Weavile rammed against her with a Quick Attack. The Lopunny attempts to defend herself with a one-two Double Hit combo, only to find herself stunned silly by a sudden Rock Smash breaking the frozen section in her abdomen; a flurry of Fury Swipes then falling upon her in turn. Far from immobilized by love, it actually seemed Weavile was all too eager to rip her beloved one to shreds now - the sick bastard.

You look up and find Murkrow hovering above you while indeed holding your precious camera within its beak. How did things turned so ugly all of the sudden? And then, a ray of hope. Acting under his own initiative, Foster swoops in to Knock Off your dear camera from the thief's grasp, falling square in the security of your hands. You could then almost swear you'd heard him say "Cheese" before Flashing a bright beam of light right unto the Murkrow's eyes. Another flash lights up simultaneously, and this time it was Marco! The shiny Remoraid shifts forms and evolves into a dazzling shiny Octillery, and in this form he has absolutely no problem aiming on his own; nailing Murkrow with a far more powerful Ice Beam! Lola also seems to turn things in her favor, suddenly ducking for a Low Sweep and knocking the Weavile off its feet before she leaps high into the air. Weavile seems to try rolling out in defense, but finds its body somehow completely Disabled, courtesy of Taffy. There was nary a thing it could do as Lola Bounced straight into the Weavile's back! Now that was something it probably isn't recovering easily from. On his end of the battle, Gaspard tries shaking off the stinging effect of poison as the Weavile seems to inhale for another devastating Blizzard. Gritting his teeth, the Aipom bears with it and tackles the Weavile once again, having it stagger back and completely misblow the icy storm as Gaspard U-turned back to safety with nimble somersault.He still got his game going, though he probably didn't have enough energy left for more fiery punches or bug dives.

The tide of battles start turning once more however, as the Murkrow now exhales a thick Haze all over the battlefield. With everyone's visibility now impaired, anything could happen. You didn't just have the man's Pokčmon to worry about, but he himself could be extremely dangerous without doubt.

What will you do?

OoC: Writer's block is bad. Really bad. Sorry for the wait, this has been long overdue.

"Here goes nothing Marco..." Connor said to his Remoraid whom he aimed at at the Murkrow. "Ready... and fire!" he shouted out as Marco fired an Ice Beam at the Murkrow... and missed. Apparently, Connor's skill of aiming with his camera did not translate into aiming with a gun... or a fish that looks like a gun, in Marco's case. The Murkrow then promptly hit Connor into the torso with its beak, forcing Connor to drop Marco to the ground. Connor winced in pain as the Murkrow's attack really did damage to him. "Ow... that hurt..." he said before he looked up and was shocked as to what he saw.

The Murkrow had his camera on its beak now.

"No... I'm not letting you... just take my camera like that!" Connor shouted as suddenly the Murkrow was attacked by Foster's Knock Off and the camera was indeed knocked off and promptly fell on Connor's hands. He then also Flashed at the Murkrow, slightly blinding him. "Foster! You can still fight?" Connor called out to his Shuppet who just nodded, "Shup-shup!" he called back. "Heh, sorry about that. I thought you were out for the count!" he said as suddenly, another light shone... Connor looked at the source which turned out to be Marco, "Marco? What's going on?" he said as Foster and Gaspard were both also distracted by the light.

The Remoraid next to him suddenly grew bigger as his fins started to transform into eight tentacles. Some parts of his body was growing yellow bumps on his sickly-green skin, most of them are on his tentacles. The head then grew rounder and Connor had noticed that the mouth had grown turret-like. It was then that Connor realized what was happening to his shiny Remoraid: Marco was evolving!

The light from Marco faded as the newly evolved Octillery finally revealed his new form. "Wow... that's amazing..." Connor's jaw dropped as he took out his Pokedex and aimed it at the Octillery.

Originally Posted by Pokedex

Octillery, the Jet Pokemon. It has a tendency to want to be in holes. It prefers rock crags or pots and sprays ink from them before attacking.

Marco then launched the second Ice Beam that Connor ordered, this time the beam noticeably stronger than before and directly hit the Murkrow. The shiny Octillery looked like he got used to his new power already. "Octill!" he shouted out towards the Murkrow.

Things were looking good on Connor's side as Marco and Gaspard were taking down the Murkrow and a Weavile respectively with Foster on support and Taffy and Lola teaming up to KO another Weavile. Suddenly however, the Murkrow let out a haze that covered the battlefield. Connor's visibility decreased as he suddenly couldn't see the enemy. He gritted his teeth. He had to think of a plan fast.

"Tch... how am I going to get rid of this haze?" Connor thought. "Kim, snap out of it! I need your help clearing this haze!" he called out to Kim, hoping she'd come to her senses. If that didn't work however... "Foster, try to brighten things up a bit with Sunny Day, then two Screeches at the Weavile and the Murkrow!" he didn't have much options into getting a definite way to clear the haze himself, but at least he had to try. "Marco stay close to me, I dunno what that man is planning and I know he's after me, so I need you to be nearby in case he does anything funny. I also want you to look for the Murkrow as well. I want you to Lock-On to him, Focus your Energy, and launch a Rock Blast at 'em! Hopefully your Sniper ability should activate!" he said to his Shiny Octillery who had now begun looking for the bird. "And lastly... Gaspard, once you see the Weavile, lay down the hurt on him with three Rock Smashes! Let's see how he likes that!" he commanded.